Bank of Japan shifts focus to preventing inflation overshooting 2% target

Oct 1, 2026 00:03 (24d ago)

Bank of Japan officials shifted policy focus toward preventing inflation from exceeding its target.
2% is the bank’s inflation target, while the policy rate reached its highest level since 1995.
The shift follows 13 years of efforts to gradually raise price growth toward 2%.

The Bank of Japan said its policy focus has shifted from gradually lifting inflation toward 2% to preventing price growth from exceeding that target. The change was outlined in a summary of opinions from last month’s policy meeting, when the bank raised its policy rate to the highest level since 1995. The summary did not identify the member who said policymakers had entered a new phase aimed at containing an inflation overshoot, following 13 years of efforts to raise price growth toward 2%.