BoJ policy decision LIVE: Bank of Japan keeps interest rates unchanged at 0.75%; 3 board members call for rate hike

BoJ policy decision LIVE: The Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) policy meeting took place today, 28 April. The monetary policy announcement comes amid the ongoing Middle East crisis, which has been ongoing for two months and fears of higher inflation due to the oil price spike.

The Bank of Japan kept the short-term interest rate target unchanged at 0.75%. However, three in the nine-member board proposed hiking borrowing costs, signalling the bank’s concern over inflationary pressures from the US-Iran war in the Middle East.

Most economists had also expected the BOJ to keep the policy rate steady at 0.75% at the end of its two-day meeting today, even as the yen hovers near levels that have prompted past interventions.

The Japanese yen was flat against the dollar at 159.49 yen, not far from the level where authorities last intervened to support the yen in 2024, suggested a Bloomberg report.

With policy rates remaining unchanged, focus is on the central bank’s quarterly outlook and what Governor Kazuo Ueda may say about how the Middle East conflict and its impact on policy outcomes.

BOJ rate trajectory

After keeping interest rates near zero for 17 years, the BOJ started monetary tightening in 2024, when it raised rates to a range of 0 to 0.1% from minus 0.1% earlier.

Subsequently, the central bank raised rates on 31 July 2024, on 24 January 2025 and on 19 December 2025. At present, BoJ maintains its key short-term interest rate at 0.75%.

Track this space for LIVE updates on the Bank of Japan’s policy outcome.