Former Bank of Japan chief economist Seisaku Kameda said he expects the BOJ to
raise rates in December and continue tightening next year until a terminal
policy rate of about 2% to counter rising inflation. He said Friday’s global
selloff pushed Japanese equities sharply lower but is unlikely to stop a
December hike unless volatility persists through the BOJ’s Dec. 17-18 meeting.
Kameda warned a pause would be warranted only if an AI-driven market collapse
provoked a severe U.S. downturn that hit Japan. He expects the BOJ to lift the
policy rate to roughly 1.5% in December, then tighten at about a quarterly pace
toward 2%, citing strong corporate profits and a planned food tax cut as
supporting Japan’s capacity to absorb higher rates.
