Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) - the biggest opposition party - said that the Central Bank should raise interest rates and continue phasing out its controversial stimulus program.
"Japan is experiencing inflation, and therefore the Central Bank, which supports an ultra-soft monetary policy, needs to reconsider its position and continue phasing out the long-standing stimulus program, which has caused various side effects, such as excessive weakness of the yen. The weak yen has done more harm than good to the Japanese economy, raising the cost of imports and hurting households," Noda said, adding that the Central Bank should raise rates gradually and cautiously, closely monitoring economic and overseas developments.
Expectations that the Bank of Japan would raise rates at its December 18-19 meeting were growing, helped by comments from Governor Kazuo Ueda. But media reports published on Wednesday suggested that the Bank of Japan may skip a rate hike this month, which confused those expectations.