Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Tuesday that she, together with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, had asked Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa to refrain from commenting on the Bank of Japan's monetary policy, arguing such decisions should be left to the central bank.
Katayama's remarks came after Mr. Akazawa had said on Sunday that an April hike "could be among options" to support Japan's currency as the country's real interest rates remained quite low - nL4N40V00C. At a regular media conference, the finance minister stressed the legal boundary between government ministers and the BOJ on matters of specific policy tools.
"The trade minister is not in charge of monetary policy and under the law, decisions on the BOJ's specific policy tools should be left to the central bank itself," Katayama said.
She added that both the prime minister and she had conveyed that message to Mr. Akazawa at a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy the previous day, asking him to refrain from making public remarks on the matter. "Prime Minister and I also told Mr. Akazawa when we met him at the meeting yesterday of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy that we would like him to refrain from making remarks on the matter," she said.
What had once been viewed as a strong possibility - a Bank of Japan rate increase in April - is losing traction, Katayama said, as fading hopes for a resolution to the Middle East conflict keep markets on edge and complicate the outlook for a fragile domestic economy. The article's original reporting flagged the April hike as a receding prospect - nL4N40T1P9.
Turning to the bond market, Katayama addressed the recent uptick in long-term Japanese government bond yields, which briefly rose to 2.49%, their highest level in nearly three decades - nL1N40W005. She said Japan's debt management approach relies on close dialogue with market participants and confirmed that bond auctions will be held as scheduled. "Bond auctions would be conducted as normal," she said.
The finance minister's comments underline an effort by the government to draw a clear line between political actors and the central bank's remit on monetary instruments, while also signalling a steady approach to sovereign debt operations amid market strain.
Context limitations - The reporting contains the statements and observations quoted above. No further details about the BOJ's internal deliberations, auction schedules beyond "as normal," or precise timing of potential policy moves were provided in the account referenced here.