Japan’s new prime minister wants BOJ to be careful when raising rates further, economy minister says Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s new economy minister, Ryosei Akazawa, said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expects the Bank of Japan to make careful economic assessments when it raises interest rates again.

“Our top priority is to ensure that Japan fully exits deflation,” Akazawa said in his first news conference as economy minister. “It will take some time to get the full exit.”

“Ishiba’s (earlier) comments on the need to normalize monetary policy have conditions,” said Akazawa, a close Ishiba ally.

The government wants the BOJ to share its view that exiting deflation is Japan’s top priority and make careful decisions about raising interest rates further, he said.

The minister also stressed that the administration will closely communicate and coordinate with the BOJ to decisively defeat deflation.

The BOJ raised rates in July but kept policy steady at the September meeting, saying it could afford to spend time watching the fallout from global economic uncertainties.