Bank of Japan board member Kazuyuki Masu will deliver a speech and hold a press conference on September 10, giving the central bank a third public appearance by a senior official before its September 17-18 policy meeting, where markets increasingly expect a rate hike. Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino is due to speak on August 27 and board member Hajime Takata on September 2, a sequence investors see as echoing earlier BOJ communication ahead of past increases; Takata dissented in July in favor of an immediate move to 1.25%, and both Masu and Himino are also viewed by market participants as supportive of near-term tightening. Expectations have also hardened after last week's joint Japan-U.S. yen intervention and comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said he expects to meet Governor Kazuo Ueda at a U.S.-hosted G20 gathering on August 31 and September 1, while analysts say a September move could leave room for another increase in December. The BOJ ended its decade-long massive stimulus program in 2024 and last raised its policy rate in June to 1%, a 31-year high, but criticism of its slow pace has intensified as the Japan-U.S. rate gap helped drive the yen to 40-year lows.