Ex-BOJ’s Hayakawa: Central bank seen adjusting policy as soon as July

Hideo Hayakawa, a former director at the Bank of Japan (BOJ), said in an interview on Friday, the Japanese central bank is poised to adjust its monetary policy settings as early as in July amid the weakening of the yen.

Key quotes

A big factor that will spur the BOJ to change policy is the weakening of the yen.”

“While the BOJ has repeatedly said the yen is positive for the economy overall, the impact is close to 50/50 and households’ discomfort is set to grow further as inflation picks up in Japan, too.”

“It’s too naive for the BOJ to say a weak yen is good when the government is taking measures to address price gains and capping gasoline prices.”

“An overwhelming majority of Japanese aren’t welcoming the weak yen.”