Japan Raises Policy Rate to 0.75%

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) decided to raise interest rates again at its monetary policy meeting on December 19. The target for the unsecured overnight call rate was raised by 0.25 percentage points to 0.75%, the highest level in 30 years since 1995.

The deflationary economic environment that has long plagued Japan has undergone significant changes, and the BOJ will maintain a path of moderate interest rate hikes going forward.

This rate hike brings Japan’s policy rate back to its highest level in 30 years since 1995. For more than 30 years after the collapse of the bubble economy, the policy rate never exceeded 0.5%.