Key facts
- One board member said Japan is in a new phase where the BOJ needs to step up the pace of moving its policy rate to neutral.
- Two other opinions from the nine-member board called for raising the policy rate to a level deemed neutral to the economy soon.
- The summary said underlying inflation had reached the central bank's 2% target.
- The BOJ kept its key rate at 1.25% at the October 29 and 30 meeting.
Some Bank of Japan policymakers called for speeding up the pace of interest rate hikes, a summary of opinions from the bank's October meeting showed on November 10, 2026. The summary said underlying inflation had reached the central bank's 2% target.
One member was quoted as saying: "The effects of past rate hikes have yet to materialise and financial conditions remain accommodative. Japan is in a new phase where the BOJ needs to step up the pace of bringing its policy rate to neutral." Two other opinions from the nine-member board called for raising the bank's policy rate to a level deemed neutral to the economy soon, the summary showed.
At the meeting on October 29 and 30, the bank kept its key rate at 1.25% but declared victory in its 14-year battle to hit its price target and flagged upside price risk, Reuters reported.