Bank of Japan kept its policy rate at 1% in an 8-1 vote; one member dissented, preferring a 25bp hike. Forward guidance turned more hawkish: the BOJ said it will continue to raise rates as warranted by economic, price and financial-condition developments and will assess Middle East developments for their impact on the timing and pace of hikes. Projections upgraded FY2026 and FY2027 GDP; risks to the outlook are judged broadly balanced. Core CPI forecasts were trimmed for FY2026 but raised for FY

Bank of Japan kept its policy rate at 1% in an 8-1 vote; one member dissented, preferring a 25bp hike. Forward guidance turned more hawkish: the BOJ said it will continue to raise rates as warranted by economic, price and financial-condition developments and will assess Middle East developments for their impact on the timing and pace of hikes. Projections upgraded FY2026 and FY2027 GDP; risks to the outlook are judged broadly balanced. Core CPI forecasts were trimmed for FY2026 but raised for FY2027; officials said underlying inflation is near 2% and core inflation could exceed the 2% target. Governor Ueda said the BOJ expects to keep tightening, does not need to wait for inflation to be stably at 2% before policy moves, and flagged upside CPI risk from AI-driven demand and higher memory-chip prices, while expecting CPI growth in the latter forecast period to slow toward about 2%.