US EditionBank of Japan raises rates to highest in 30 years as inflation stays above target
The Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate to 0.75%, the highest in 30 years, aiming to curb inflation above its 2% target amid rising rice prices.
- On Nov. 21, 2025, the Bank of Japan raised its policy rate to a three-decade high, the highest level since 1995, Kazuo Ueda, BOJ Governor, said at a lower-house committee.
- Persistent inflation has meant inflation has stayed above the BOJ's 2% target for 44 months, with November consumer price growth at 2.9%, prompting gradual rate lifts to secure the 'virtuous cycle' policy aim.
- Revised GDP and wages data show a 0.6% quarter-on-quarter contraction and 2.3% annualized decline, with real wages falling for 10 months while Japanese government bond yields hit multi-decade highs amid a near 230% debt-to-GDP ratio.
- Analysts including Shigeto Nagai see the BOJ likely raising its policy rate toward a 1% terminal rate by mid-2026, and Japan's cabinet approved a 21.3 trillion yen stimulus to support consumers.
- The move risks friction with Sanae Takaichi, Prime Minister of Japan, as policy normalization began last year and inflation may fall toward 2% in the first half of 2026.
94 Articles
94 Articles
Higher price growth prompted the Bank of Japan to pull the brakes. At its meeting on Friday, it raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.75 percent, the highest level since 1995.
Bank of Japan’s historic rate increase signals new era for economy
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised interest rates on Friday to levels unseen in three decades and signalled its readiness for further hikes, taking another landmark step in ending decades of huge monetary support and near-zero borrowing costs. It also removed language that growth and inflation will stagnate due to the impact of higher US tariffs, underscoring the central bank’s conviction that Japan was on course to stably hit its 2 per cent inflati…
In Japan, the key interest rate has been raised to its highest level in thirty years. The Bank of Japan's goal with this increase: inflation…
The Japanese central bank has raised its key interest rate to the highest level in three decades.
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