Business · Economy · 2 hrs ago
BOJ policymaker warns rate hikes could hurt economy
A Bank of Japan policymaker warned rate hikes could hurt the economy.
The warning concerns the risks of raising interest rates.
The concern is that rate increases could bring economic downsides.
The available information does not name the policymaker.
It gives no details about the size or timing of any rate hikes.
No next steps or policy decision were announced.
Bank of Japan policymaker Toshiro Asada warned that further interest rate increases could weaken the economy and push down underlying inflation.
He said the pace of future rate increases should be considered carefully.
Asada cited weak consumer spending and said recent inflation was not necessarily driven by demand.
The BOJ raised its policy rate to 1.25% in September, its second increase of the year.
Asada and another policymaker opposed that September increase.
- Who
- BOJ policymaker Toshiro Asada.
- What
- He warned that rate hikes could weaken the economy and underlying inflation, and urged caution over the pace of increases.
- When
- November 12, 2026.
- Where
- A BOJ meeting with business leaders in Nagasaki City.
- Why
- He cited concerns about consumer spending and the risk that tighter financial conditions would weigh increasingly on the economy.
Toshiro Asada
Bank of Japan
Rate increases
Toshiro Asada
Asada said hikes could weaken the economy and underlying inflation, so the pace should be judged carefully.
Bank of Japan
The BOJ has continued raising rates on the premise that bank lending is growing and financial conditions remain accommodative.
The BOJ raised its policy rate to 1.25%, with Asada and Ayano Sato opposing the increase.
Asada said the BOJ should be cautious about the pace of future rate increases.
- Policymaker
- Toshiro Asada
- Policy rate after September increase
- 1.25%
- September dissenters
- Toshiro Asada and Ayano Sato
- Asada's warning
- Rate hikes could weaken the economy and underlying inflation
- Consumer spending
- Flat in April-June real GDP figures
4 sources
What people are saying
There is a need to pay sufficient attention to the risk that rate hikes could weaken the economy and push down the underlying rate of inflation.
Even looking at recent data, consumption cannot necessarily be said to be strong.
Even if we raise the policy rate going forward, we need to pay sufficient attention to the pace.