BOJ board opinion summary shows shift in focus to curbing inflation overshoot

The Bank of Japan affirmed in a summary of opinions from last month’s policy meeting that preventing inflation from overshooting is now their primary focus. | bloomberg

Oct 1, 2026

The Bank of Japan affirmed that its policy focus has shifted to preventing inflation from overshooting its target in a summary of opinions from last month’s policy meeting, when authorities raised the policy rate to the highest level since 1995.

The summary, which doesn’t disclose who made the comments, noted that one member said authorities had entered a new phase of policymaking aimed at keeping inflation from exceeding the 2% target. That comes after 13 years during which the bank sought to gradually lift price growth toward that level.

“If signs of an upward deviation in prices are observed, the bank will need to accelerate the pace of rate hikes,” one member said, according to the summary from the Sept. 17 to 18 meeting that was released Thursday.

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