OKAYAMA--The Bank of Japan must raise interest rates to at least 1% as soon as the second half of next fiscal year, hawkish policymaker Naoki Tamura said on Thursday, reinforcing the bank's ...

In a speech to business leaders in Nagano prefecture in central Japan, Naoki Tamura said that the central bank should raise rates to 1% or higher in the fiscal half starting in October.

Bank of Japan (BoJ) board member Naoki Tamura is back on the wires, via Reuters, clarifying his earlier remarks on the central bank’s interest rate. Not saying that neutral rate should be 1%.

The remark by the policymaker Naoki Tamura came after the BOJ lifted its key short-term rate from 0.25 percent to a 17-year high of 0.5 percent late last month. With upside risks to prices ...