Interest rates reach 31-year high! Bank of Japan raises rates by 25 basis points, pauses bond purchases reduction, deputy governor's press conference becomes the focal point.

According to the Wise Finance APP, the Bank of Japan officially announced a 0.25 percentage point increase in the benchmark interest rate to 1.00%, marking the highest level since September 1995, on the eve of the opening of a zero interest rate era that has lasted nearly thirty years since the burst of Japan's "bubble economy". The interest rate decision was approved with a 7-1 vote, with the only dissenting vote cast by board member Asada Tsunehiro, who believed that the downside risk to production and employment from the Middle East situation was greater than the upside risk to prices, and advocated maintaining the current policy guidance. Additionally, the Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced a pause in reducing its bond-buying program, deciding to maintain its monthly purchases of Japanese government bonds at around 2 trillion yen from April 2027.