Japan PM Takaichi: Japan Is Not Currently in Deflation, Respects BOJ Independence

Takaichi's framing matters less for what it says about prices than for what it signals about the government-BOJ relationship. Explicitly ruling out a deflation diagnosis removes a political argument for keeping ultra-loose policy, while the nod to BOJ independence suggests the new administration is not looking for a public fight over normalization. For yen and JGB markets, the open question is whether this tone holds once the BOJ actually moves.