Japanese Media: BOJ Governor Suggests Rate Hike in September to Facilitate US-Japan Joint Yen Intervention

BlockBeats News, August 10th. According to Kyodo News, on August 10th, multiple Japanese government officials revealed that on July 31st, Eastern Time, the governments of Japan and the United States carried out an unusually coordinated intervention to buy Japanese yen, marking the first such action in 28 years.

The key factor behind this decision was that Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda strongly hinted during a press conference on the same day (July 31st) that the bank would raise its policy rate in September and beyond at the earliest opportunity. Kuroda explicitly stated that if necessary, they would "accelerate the pace of rate hikes." The U.S. responded positively to this, and both sides were in agreement on preventing the yen from depreciating excessively. This is because the U.S. is concerned that Japan's slow pace of rate hikes has led to excessive yen depreciation, further fueling inflation and rising long-term interest rates, which could potentially affect global financial markets.

A high-ranking Japanese government official disclosed: "Governor Kuroda's remarks were highly convincing to the U.S. side. At the same time, this also means that the Bank of Japan has no choice but to raise rates at the next policy meeting on September 17-18."