BOJ Governor Ueda Hospitalized, Will Miss Next Week's Policy Meeting

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced on the evening of June 10 that Governor Kazuo Ueda has been hospitalized due to a liver cyst infection and will be absent from the monetary policy meeting scheduled for June 15-16. According to Kyodo News, the meeting will proceed as planned, with Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino serving as acting chair, and another Deputy Governor, Shinichi Uchida, attending the post-meeting press conference. The BOJ stated that Governor Ueda was hospitalized after undergoing tests on June 9 and is expected to be hospitalized for about two weeks. He will handle official duties remotely during his hospitalization. For this policy meeting, Governor Ueda will submit his views in writing but will not participate in the vote. The vote will be conducted by the two deputy governors and six policy board members, totaling eight people. In the event of a tie, the acting chair will make the final decision. Markets widely expect the BOJ to raise its policy rate from the current 0.75% to around 1.0% at the June meeting. If an additional rate hike is decided, it would mark the highest interest rate level in about 31 years, since September 1995.