The Bank of Japan kept the policy interest rate at 0.25%.

The Bank of Japan decided at the monetary policy meeting on the 20th to maintain the unsecured call rate for the next day's money market at around 0.25%. This decision is based on the need to assess the impact of the additional rate hike in July on the economy and prices, as well as the unstable trends in the financial markets that occurred in August.

Although there are some weak movements in the economy, it is gradually recovering and is expected to continue to grow above the potential growth rate. The underlying inflation rate of consumer prices is expected to remain at a level broadly consistent with price stability during the latter half of the forecast period from 2024 to 2026.

Surprisingly, a rate hike to 0.5% may be near (either next time or in December). Japan's economic indicators are strong.