Speech archive
Central bank speeches compiled from the BIS archive. Speech texts, summaries and the hawk/dove score are produced automatically every day; the newest entries may stay unscored until the next run.
- BoJ21 September 2026·Kazuyuki Masu+6.0 (hawkish)
Economic activity, prices, and monetary policy in Japan
In his speech in Fukui, BoJ Policy Board member Masu said developments in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have pushed up oil and chemical prices, and that distribution costs, personnel expenses and food prices could create more persistent inflationary pressure. He said Japan has fully exited deflation, underlying inflation is very close to the 2 percent target and negative real interest rates should be eliminated as soon as possible. He said the policy rate (1.0 percent) remains below the neutral rate range (1.1-2.5 percent) and that he is convinced the rate needs to be raised firmly into this range to complete normalisation. He said the Bank will continue raising rates, judging the timing and pace in light of oil prices, AI-related demand and exchange rate developments.
- BoJ16 September 2026·Hajime Takata+7.0 (very hawkish)
Economic activity, prices, and monetary policy in Japan
BoJ Policy Board member Hajime Takata said that, despite the rise in oil prices stemming from the Middle East, there is no marked slowdown in Japan's economy, wage growth remains strong, and rising producer prices are passing through to consumer prices, posing upside risks to inflation. Takata argued that 2026 marks a "regime change" in line with the global rate-hiking cycle and that rate hikes should no longer come at a fixed pace but in an agile, data-dependent way. Recalling that he proposed raising the policy rate to 1.25 percent at the July meeting, he stressed that the real interest rate is the lowest in the world and that the policy rate should be brought closer to the neutral rate. He said the Bank should move away from its current stance of supporting inflation and show the market its determination to prevent prices from overshooting the target. On reducing JGB purchases, he supported a cautious and gradual approach to preserve market functioning.