In a historic move, the Bank of Japan has raised borrowing costs for the first time since 2007, marking the end of an era of negative interest rates. This decision, led by BoJ governor Kazuo Ueda, marks a significant departure from the ultra-loose monetary policies implemented over the past decade to combat deflation in Japan.
Following a 7-2 majority vote, the BoJ announced its intention to guide the overnight interest rate to remain within a range of about zero to 0.1 per cent, discontinuing the use of negative rates as a monetary policy tool. Previously, the benchmark rate had been set at minus 0.1 per cent.
