Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Tuesday further rate hikes will depend on how the economic and price situations develop, but that aggressive hikes will be unlikely given the current environment.
Speaking at a press conference after the BOJ decided to end its negative interest rate policy with its first increase in 17 years, Ueda said the decision to depart from unorthodox monetary policy reflects the BOJ's growing confidence about the prospect of the 2 percent inflation target being achieved stably and sustainably.
The BOJ also scrapped its program to keep long-term Japanese government bonds yields depressed at rock-bottom levels.
Ueda said long-term yields should be determined by market forces but the central bank will try to prevent a spike by buying bonds when needed.
