BOJ Gov. Ueda: Highly Likely Mechanism for Rising Wages, Prices Will Be Maintained

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:08 JST, December 19, 2025

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said at a press conference on Friday that the decision to raise the bank’s policy interest rate was made because there is a high possibility that a mechanism for wages to rise alongside prices will be maintained.

The BOJ decided to raise its short-term policy rate target from the current level of about 0.5% to about 0.75% at Friday’s policy-setting meeting.

Ueda previously said that uncertainty surrounding the impact of the U.S. high tariff policy was “high,” but he noted on the day that the uncertainty “remains but is decreasing.”

Regarding further interest rate hikes in the future, Ueda said, “At each policy-setting meeting, we will make appropriate decisions while updating the outlook for the economy, prices, risks and the likelihood of achieving [the 2% price stability] target.”