TOKYO, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed reservations about additional interest rate hikes during her meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda last week, The Mainichi daily reported on Tuesday, citing multiple unnamed sources.
The report, if true, signals potential friction over monetary policy that could complicate the BOJ’s timetable as coordination with the newly strengthened administration becomes more delicate. The yen weakened against both the dollar and euro in response to the report.
Ueda had characterised the meeting last Monday as a general exchange of views on economic and financial developments, and had said the prime minister had not made any specific monetary policy requests.
Takaichi herself has been coy about the particulars of their meeting, saying only that she hoped the central bank would work closely with the government to durably achieve its 2% inflation target accompanied by wage gains.
The BOJ declined to comment. Japanese Economic Revitalisation Minister Minoru Kiuchi also declined to comment on the meeting at a press conference on Tuesday, but reiterated his hope that the BOJ would work closely with the government.
The meeting was held amid simmering market speculation that the rising cost of living, driven in part by the weak yen, could prompt the central bank to raise interest rates as soon as March or April.
The BOJ raised rates to a 30-year high of 0.75% in December and signalled further hikes were possible.
A Reuters poll this month showed that a majority of economists expect the BOJ to raise its key rate to 1% by the end of June, with some anticipating a move as soon as April because of mounting concerns about inflationary pressures and a weak yen.
The exact remarks by Takaichi to Ueda are unclear, but she took “a tougher stance” than during their previous meeting in November last year, the Mainichi reported.
During the November meeting, Ueda told Takaichi that the central bank was gradually raising interest rates to guide inflation smoothly towards its 2% target and ensure the economy achieves sustainable growth, according to comments by the governor.
(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama, Makiko Yamazaki, Takahiko Wada and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jacqueline Wong)
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