BREAKINGVIEWS — Japan’s weak currency has a three — body problem

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.) By Hudson Lockett HONG KONG, Sept 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) — The central bank hiked to 1.25% but its governor’s comments missed markets’ hawkish hopes despite pressure from the US Treasury secretary. The prime minister has meanwhile vowed to pursue her fiscally profligate plans regardless. A stronger yen requires them to move in harmony. Full view will be published shortly. Follow Hudson Lockett on Bluesky and X. Context News The Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 31-year high of 1.25% on September 18 in a 7-2 vote to raise its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points. Board member Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato dissented to the decision. At an afternoon press conference, central bank Governor Kazuo Ueda said that "As for the pace of future rate hikes, we don't have any pre-set idea in mind such as once every three months. We will determine at each policy meeting how best to ensure underlying inflation stabilises at 2%." (Editing by Jon Sindreu; Production by Streisand Neto) ((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on LOCKETT/ mailto:hudson.lockett@thomsonreuters.com)