--- title: "Bank of Japan December Meeting Minutes: Yen depreciation is becoming an \"unignorable force\" for inflation; hawkish board members state that \"we are still far from neutral interest rates.\"" type: "News" locale: "zh-HK" url: "https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/273930301.md" description: "The minutes of the Bank of Japan's December meeting show that some board members are increasingly concerned about the impact of yen depreciation on price trends. The meeting decided to raise the benchmark interest rate to its highest level since 1995, with some board members emphasizing the need to consider the impact of yen depreciation on inflation. Although the yen exchange rate remained weak after the rate hike, it has recently appreciated due to market expectations of intervention in the foreign exchange market. In the latest meeting, the Bank of Japan kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged and raised several inflation forecasts, leading to increased market expectations for future rate hikes" datetime: "2026-01-28T03:49:08.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/273930301.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/273930301.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/273930301.md) --- > 支持的語言: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/273930301.md) | [English](https://longbridge.com/en/news/273930301.md) # Bank of Japan December Meeting Minutes: Yen depreciation is becoming an "unignorable force" for inflation; hawkish board members state that "we are still far from neutral interest rates." According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the minutes from the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting in December show that some board members expressed increasing concerns about the extent to which the depreciation of the yen affects price trends. At this meeting, the Bank of Japan decided to raise the benchmark interest rate to its highest level since 1995. According to the minutes of the meeting held on December 18-19, which were released on Wednesday, some board members stated, "When deciding whether to raise the policy interest rate, the central bank should consider the impact of the yen's depreciation on the inflation rate, and in some cases, on potential inflation." ![image.png](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20260128/1769570787642406.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Although the Bank of Japan emphasized that the rate hike on December 19 was due to economic developments meeting its expectations, the minutes suggest that decision-makers are becoming more vigilant about the impact of a weak yen. At the time of the meeting, the yen exchange rate was around 155, while the average exchange rate for the entire year of 2025 is expected to be around 149.70. The market had already fully digested the Bank of Japan's rate hike in December, so after the hike, the yen exchange rate remained weak, ultimately reaching an 18-month low of 159.45 on January 14. However, since last Friday, the yen has experienced rapid appreciation. At that time, there were reports that relevant U.S. departments were conducting exchange rate checks, leading to increased market expectations that authorities might intervene in the foreign exchange market. On Wednesday morning in Tokyo, the yen rose further against the dollar to 152.10, reaching a new high since October of last year; meanwhile, U.S. President Trump previously stated that he welcomed the weakening of the dollar, which also supported the yen's appreciation. In the latest monetary policy meeting that concluded last Friday, the Bank of Japan chose to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged, but there was one dissenting vote, with that board member calling for another rate hike. Additionally, the Bank of Japan raised several inflation forecasts in its quarterly economic outlook, with the increases exceeding economists' previous expectations, leading the market to increase bets that the central bank might raise rates again before April. The next monetary policy decision by the Bank of Japan will be announced on March 19. The minutes also noted that one board member pointed out that given the current limited impact of rate hikes on the Japanese economy and inflation, the Bank of Japan still has "considerable" room to reach a neutral interest rate level. This board member is likely one of the two most hawkish members of the Bank of Japan, Naoki Tamura or Hajime Takata. This board member stated, "The Bank of Japan should currently adhere to the idea of gradually adjusting the degree of monetary easing over several months while observing feedback from economic activity and price trends." Currently, Japan's consumer inflation rate has exceeded the central bank's 2% target for four consecutive years, and the inflation data for the Tokyo region, to be released on Friday, is expected to continue this trend in January ### 相關股票 - [BlackRock, Inc. (1475.JP)](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/quote/1475.JP.md) - [Asset Management One Co., Ltd. (1473.JP)](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/quote/1473.JP.md) - [Pro Ultr Yen (YCL.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/quote/YCL.US.md) - [Currencyshares JPY Trust (FXY.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/quote/FXY.US.md) - [Pro Ultrshrt Yen (YCS.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/quote/YCS.US.md) - [Simplex Financial Holdings Co., Ltd. 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