BoJ Summary of Opinions: Member says uncertainty surrounding economy, price outlook is high

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) published the Summary of Opinions from the monetary policy meeting on April 30 and May 1, 2025, with the key findings noted below.   

Key quotes

One member said BOJ is likely to keep raising interest rates in accordance with improvements in the economy, prices.
One member said no change to BOJ’s rate-hike stance as real interest rates are deeply negative, but must scrutinise risks.
One member said uncertainty surrounding economy, price outlook high, likelihood of achieving price goal not as high as in past.
One member said BoJ has little choice but to take wait-and-see stance until developments surrounding U.S. trade policy stabilise to some extent.
One member said BoJ will enter a temporary pause in rate hikes but shouldn’t slide into excessive pessimism, must guide policy nimbly and flexibly.
One member said the chance of Japan’s underlying inflation faltering is small.
One member said US trade policy development could turn positive or negative any time, which means BOJ’s policy path could change any time as well.
One member said our projections have been severely jolted by US trade policy with higher US tariffs likely to weigh on Japan’s economy, prices.
 

Market reaction  

Following the BoJ’s Summary of Opinions, the USD/JPY pair is down 0.07% on the day to trade at 148.20 as of writing.