The Bank of Japan reiterates its ultra-loose monetary stance, and the USD/JPY exchange rate returns above the 150 mark.

In December last year, the Bank of Japan unexpectedly tightened its Yield Curve Control (YCC) policy, allowing the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds to fluctuate within a range of approximately 0.5%. This measure is seen as Japan taking the first step towards ending its negative interest rate policy. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has stated that this year is a "key year" for interest rate hikes.

However, the Bank of Japan has recently become more cautious about the inflation outlook and reiterated its commitment to maintaining an accommodative monetary policy. In the October meeting, it continued to keep the short-term interest rate at -0.1%, and the target for the 10-year government bond yield remains around 0%.

Asahi Noguchi, a member of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board, stated that the conditions for maintaining the inflation rate at the 2% target level have not yet been met, so it is still too early to discuss exiting the easing policy.

Market expectations suggest that the Bank of Japan will not make any major policy adjustments this year. The USD/JPY exchange rate continues to rise, briefly returning above the 150 mark. Analysts believe that the trend of yen depreciation may continue, with attention on subsequent changes in the US-Japan interest rate differential and the Central Bank's stance.