Senior officials from major Japanese banks: If the economic trend continues, Japan's Central Bank will raise interest rates to the highest level in 30 years, 2%.

On March 12, Jinshi data, Masamichi Koike, a senior market manager at Mitsui Sumitomo Bank, one of Japan's largest banks, believes that if the economic trend continues, the Central Bank of Japan may raise the Benchmark Interest Rate to a 2%, the highest level in thirty years, which is more hawkish than consensus expectations. As long as the U.S. economy does not experience a recession, the Central Bank of Japan may raise the policy Interest Rate from the current 0.5% to 1% this year. 'If it is necessary to cool the economy or inflation, I think it must rise to 2%.' Koike has had foresight on the rise in borrowing costs in Japan. He predicted in September 2023 that persistent inflation would drive short-term and long-term Interest Rates rise from the bottom level. Six months later, the Central Bank of Japan abandoned the negative Interest Rate policy. Koike believes that Japan's inflation rate will remain above 2% due to the chaos in global trade leading to a pump in import costs. However, he expects that the rate hike will not have a significant adverse impact. He also holds a cautious attitude towards buying government bonds and other foreign bonds. He expects the Fed not to cut interest rates this year because the U.S. economy is expected to remain healthy.