The leader of Japan's opposition party warned the central bank twice in one week: at least six months should be waited before raising interest rates

Zhitong
2024.11.01 11:44
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Yamaki Yuichiro, the leader of Japan's opposition party, warned that the Bank of Japan should wait at least six months before raising interest rates to observe whether wage growth can sustainably exceed inflation. He emphasized that monetary policy should not change significantly, especially before the upcoming spring wage negotiations. The Constitutional Democratic Party has gained seats and increased its influence in recent elections, advocating for higher wages and tax cuts. Yamaki also pointed out that maintaining an accommodative monetary policy could depress the yen, but monetary policy should not be used to manipulate exchange rates

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the leader of the opposition party, which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan is seeking support from, has once again warned the Bank of Japan against raising interest rates prematurely in an interview, stating that the central bank should wait at least six months before raising rates until there are signs that wage growth can sustainably exceed inflation.

Yamaki Yuichiro, the leader of the Japan's National Democratic Party, stated in an interview: "Monetary policy should not undergo significant changes, as we need to observe the wage growth trends from the spring negotiations next year."

After the Japanese general election on October 27, as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party seeks support to maintain power, the influence of the National Democratic Party, led by Yamaki Yuichiro, on government policy is increasing.

In the House of Representatives, which has a total of 465 seats, the Liberal Democratic Party and its ruling partner Komeito secured 215 seats, falling short of the 233 seats needed for a majority, while the National Democratic Party, which advocates for higher wages and cuts to national sales and income taxes, saw its number of seats increase from 7 to 28.

On Tuesday, Yamaki Yuichiro pointed out at a press conference that the Bank of Japan should currently avoid adjusting its ultra-loose monetary policy.

The Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy in March and raised short-term interest rates to 0.25% in July, as Japan made progress toward achieving its 2% inflation target sustainably.

At Thursday's policy meeting, the Bank of Japan maintained the short-term interest rate at 0.25% but indicated that the risks surrounding the U.S. economy have diminished, suggesting that the conditions for another rate hike are maturing.

However, Yamaki Yuichiro stated that it is necessary to ultimately achieve the normalization of monetary policy and allow the market to operate normally.

Yamaki Yuichiro mentioned that maintaining a loose monetary policy could suppress the yen. "But it is precisely the strength of the U.S. economy that creates a significant interest rate gap between the U.S. and Japan; monetary policy should not be used to manipulate exchange rates."

He declined to comment on the current exchange rate level but stated that intervening in the foreign exchange market would only have a short-term impact, although it might deter speculative behavior