
U.S. tariff uncertainty very high, sentiment 'deteriorated,' says BOJ's Ueda
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said Tuesday that uncertainties over high tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump remain extremely high.
Business and household sentiments "have deteriorated recently," Ueda said at an event hosted by the Research Institute of Japan, a Jiji Press affiliate, in Tokyo.
On the central bank's monetary policy moves going forward, he said that "nascent developments" toward achieving the BOJ's 2% price target "have steadily gained momentum."
Ueda also said that the BOJ will continue to raise interest rates if the Japanese economy and prices move in line with the central bank's outlook.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Japan Times
12 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Toyota to raise U.S. auto prices by more than $200 from July
Toyota Motor will raise prices of some vehicles it sells in the U.S. by more than $200 starting next month. Some Toyota- and Lexus-branded models will see their prices raised by an average of $270 and $208, respectively, Nobu Sunaga, a spokesman for the Japanese carmaker, said in an email on Saturday. The move is a part of a regular revision and new prices are determined based on factors including market conditions and competition, he said, without giving more details. The revision comes after Mitsubishi Motors announced raising the U.S. prices for three models this month, also citing a regular adjustment to factor in inflation. Japanese carmakers rely heavily on imports to supply the U.S. market, and have been grappling with the fallout of President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported cars and parts. Kyodo News reported Toyota's price hike earlier.


Japan Times
27 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Upper House begins discussions on gasoline tax bill
The Upper House began discussions on an opposition-sponsored gasoline tax cut bill on Saturday, a day before the ordinary session of parliament ends Sunday. The opposition camp is demanding that the bill be put to a vote in the Upper House Committee on Financial Affairs and then in the full chamber by the end of Saturday, with an eye on the upcoming Upper House election, expected to take place on July 20. However, Junichi Ishii, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's parliamentary affairs chief in the Upper House, told Yoshitaka Saito, his counterpart from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, at a meeting Saturday that the bill does not deserve a vote. The bill to abolish the provisional gasoline tax rate, effective July 1, was jointly submitted by the CDP and six other opposition parties earlier this month. On Friday, it passed the Lower House, where the LDP-Komeito coalition lacks a majority. There is little chance that the bill will pass the Upper House, where the ruling coalition holds a majority.


The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
Japanese restaurants, food companies switching to noodles from rice
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- As cost-sensitive consumers are steering clear of rice after a price surge to record highs, restaurant chains and food companies are turning to noodles. Antworks Co., operator of Densetsu no Sutadonya eateries offering pork rice bowls, opened its first ramen noodle restaurant in Tokyo in May and plans another three by next February to diversify its operations. "We have touted our (pork bowl) business as a large portion of our business portfolio but rice prices are now more than three times higher than those several years ago," a spokesperson at the Tokyo-based restaurant chain operator said. A pork rice bowl set meal with miso soup and raw egg is now priced at 890 yen ($6), compared with 630 yen in 2021. The spokesperson said consumers would likely stay away if the price were raised to over 1,000 yen. "The outlook for our business would be more severe if we were just focusing on (pork) bowls," the official said, adding that the cost of a ramen noodle dish is 100 yen to 150 yen cheaper than a pork bowl. Yoshinoya Holdings Co., the parent of major beef bowl restaurant operator Yoshinoya Co., is also strengthening its ramen noodle business, as it views the beef bowl restaurant market in Japan as saturated. Yoshinoya Holdings Executive Vice President Norihiro Ozawa says its ramen noodle business allows the company to "balance" ingredient costs with offerings aside from rice and meat. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, rice prices have doubled from a year earlier and remain around a spike initially triggered by a poor harvest. The average price stood at 4,176 yen per 5 kilograms in the week through June 8, despite releases from the government's rice stockpiles. At supermarkets, consumers are looking for alternatives to rice. According to TableMark Co., sales of its frozen udon noodles grew around 10 percent in value terms in April and May from a year earlier, while sales of Kikkoman Corp.'s packaged udon noodle soup and ingredients rose 10 percent in the three months through May from the same period last year. Meiji Holdings Co. said sales of its mainstay Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt products have maintained around 10 percent growth each month since April last year. "Western-style breakfast foods such as bread and cereal have become more popular" amid the increase in rice prices, a Meji Holdings official said.