Sanae Takaichi expresses concerns about interest rate hikes to Kazuo Ueda

On February 24, according to a report by Daily News, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed concerns about further interest rate hikes during a meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda last week. Kazuo Ueda stated that the meeting mainly discussed economic and financial conditions, and the Prime Minister did not make any specific monetary policy requests. Sanae Takaichi hopes that the central bank and the government will work closely together to achieve the 2% inflation target accompanied by wage growth. Following this report, the yen weakened against the US dollar and the euro. Market participants speculate that the yen's weakness may prompt the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in March or April.