Major Japanese companies are more optimistic than expected, supporting the Bank of Japan to continue raising interest rates

Japanese large companies' confidence exceeded expectations, which may prompt the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates at the end of this year or early next year. According to the Bank of Japan's short-term outlook report, the September large manufacturing confidence index remained stable at 13, while the non-manufacturing confidence index slightly increased to 34. Despite external factors that may keep interest rates unchanged, strong confidence data could influence decisions. Economists generally predict that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates by the end of January next year. In August, Japan's unemployment rate dropped to 2.5%, indicating a tight job market