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At its monetary policy meeting in March this year, the Bank of Japan ended its policy of negative interest rates that had continued for eight years since 2016. In July, it further raised interest on its policy rate, demonstrating its intent to move forward with efforts to normalize monetary policy.

While a year-on-year comparison of the consumer price index (excluding fresh foods) shows that it is increasing by over 2%, the target set by the Bank of Japan, it has also been noted that current wage increases are not keeping up with rising commodity prices due to factors such as higher costs for imported goods in light of the weak yen, and so it remains to be seen whether a virtuous cycle between commodity prices and wage increases can be established.

The FPCJ has invited Dr. Tsutomu Watanabe, a leading researcher in commodity prices and expert in macroeconomics who is a professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Economics, to discuss the current status and outlook of normalization of wages, commodity prices, and interest rates.

The briefing was attended by journalists from China, France, Germany, Korea,  and US.

Handout

■Date: Nov. 19 (Tue), 2024, 14:00-15:30

■Theme:  Normalization of Wages, Commodity Prices, and Interest Rates: Current Status and Outlook

■Briefer: Dr. Tsutomu Watanabe, Professor, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Economics

■Language: Japanese, with consecutive English interpretation

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