Former Japanese currency chief Nakao says he thinks the BoJ should raise rates at every meeting to reduce rate differential with the US and ease pressure on the yen, according to Bloomberg

Commentary from former currency officials occupies a specific place in the Japanese policy ecosystem: they speak with knowledge of the Ministry of Finance's thinking on the exchange rate but carry no decision-making weight, and their remarks have historically served more as signalling of official discomfort than as previews of Bank of Japan action. The substance here, hiking at consecutive meetings to narrow the rate differential with the US, reflects the long-running MOF preference for policy normalisation as a first line of yen defence rather than intervention, a stance that has surfaced repeatedly whenever the currency trades at levels officials consider out of line with fundamentals. The distinction worth drawing is between rate-gap arguments, which operate through the yield differential that drives carry positioning, and verbal or actual intervention, which works on flow and positioning in the short term; former officials endorsing faster hikes tend to lean on the former as the more durable channel. In past episodes, remarks of this kind have moved the yen and front-end JGBs only modestly unless they coincide with hints from sitting BoJ board members or a shift in the governor's own language, since it is the incumbent Policy Board and not retired voices that sets the pace. What matters next is whether the view is echoed by current officials in scheduled appearances, the tone of the next BoJ meeting and its vote split, and any sign that the government is pressing the Bank on normalisation timing. As commentary rather than decision, the signal is directional and the conviction bar for sustained repricing remains high.