BOJ Board Member Says Rate Hikes to Resume After Temporary Pause

The Bank of Japan’s rate hike cycle will resume after “only” a temporary pause, Board Member Hajime Takata warned, keeping his hawkish tone even after President Donald Trump clouded the economic outlook by threatening to impose tariffs on Japanese goods even higher than those previously touted.

“I believe that the bank is currently only pausing its policy interest rate hike cycle and should continue to make a gear shift after a certain period of ‘wait and see,”’ Takata said Thursday in a speech to local business leaders in Mie, in central Japan.