TOKYO — The Bank of Japan should not rush into raising interest rates given various economic risks, its new board member Kazuyuki Masu said on Tuesday, reinforcing market views that US tariffs will keep the central bank in a holding pattern for the time being.
While the initial gloom over the hit from US tariffs seems to be subsiding somewhat, policymakers should not be complacent about their impact on Japan’s economy with trade talks with the US still in progress, Masu said.
“Automobiles are the mainstay of Japan’s exports to the US As such, we can’t have any preset idea on the impact (of US tariffs) until a deal is struck,” he told a press conference after being officially appointed by the government to join the nine-member board.
Masu, a former chief financial officer of trading house Mitsubishi Corp 8058.T, also said he agreed with the BOJ’s view that underlying inflation, or price moves driven by strength in domestic demand, remained short of its 2 percent target.
