, Columnists
The BOJ’s Back-Seat Drivers Add to Ueda’s Headaches
Lawmakers lobbying for higher rates are the latest hassle for the Bank of Japan governor. He should ignore them.
Block out the noise.
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Here’s something you don’t see every day: Two senior lawmakers, each with ambitions for national leadership, advocating for higher interest rates in a country where inflation is fairly contained.
Yet in recent weeks, Taro Kono and Toshimitsu Motegi independently seemed to call for the Bank of Japan to tighten monetary policy, citing the side effects of the excessively weak yen.