The economic and price situation necessary for the Bank of Japan to proceed with the normalization of monetary policy is on track, and additional interest rate hikes have entered the firing range. If implemented at the monetary policy meeting this month, interest rates will be raised three times a year since 1989, when the bubble economy was at its peak.
　　Consumer prices (core CPI excluding fresh food), which is the key, have exceeded the Bank of Japan target of 2% for 31 consecutive months until October, and service prices, which are easy to reflect wage trends, continue to improve. As high levels of wage increases are realized against the backdrop of labor shortages and strong corporate profits, the movement to transfer wage costs, which indicates a virtuous cycle between wages and prices, to prices is steadily spreading.
　　The Bank of Japan has indicated a policy to adjust the degree of mitigation by raising interest rates if economic and price forecasts are realized. Governor Ueda Kazuo has stated that the data is as expected and interest rate hikes are approaching, and at the meeting on the 18th and 19th, it is expected that policies will be decided after determining indicators such as the Bank of Japan Enterprise Short-Term Economic Observation Survey (tankan) announced on the 13th and overseas economies where uncertainty is increasing until just before.
　　Chief economist Nakayamako of Okasan Securities from the Bank of Japan said, “Until now, the Bank of Japan has said that if we go on track (as expected), it will raise interest rates. that...