Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Himono is scheduled to appear before the Japanese parliament imminently, with his testimony expected to shed light on the central bank's policy stance amid a weakening yen. The appearance comes as Japan's finance minister, Katayama, reiterated verbal intervention warnings to stem the currency's decline, stating the government is 'ready to respond as needed.'
BOJ Deputy Governor's Parliamentary Appearance
Deputy Governor Himono will address lawmakers starting from 0000 GMT (2000 US Eastern time), according to reports. His remarks are closely watched after a previous hawkish testimony on price risks, which prompted Prime Minister Takaichi to urge policy restraint. Himono had earlier warned that delaying policy adjustments could trigger an inflation overshoot, signaling a potential shift in the BOJ's ultra-loose monetary stance.
Verbal Intervention and Yen Pressure
Finance Minister Katayama's comments represent the latest in a series of verbal interventions aimed at supporting the yen, which has been under sustained pressure against the dollar. The USD/JPY pair is set for its highest weekly close since 1986, reflecting persistent rate differentials between Japan and the US. Traders are now assessing whether the BOJ will follow through with policy tightening to curb the yen's slide.
Market Context and Related Headlines
The BOJ developments coincide with broader market movements, including oil prices jumping on Strait of Hormuz fears and US-Iran tensions. Meanwhile, the PBOC set the USD/CNY reference rate at 6.8150, higher than the Reuters estimate of 6.7733, while keeping loan prime rates unchanged at 3% for one-year and 3.5% for five-year. In AI news, an open-source model GLM-5.2 is challenging GPT-5.5 at a fraction of the cost.