The Bank of Japan's meeting summary suggests further interest rate hikes are likely.

PANews reported on December 29th that, according to Jinshi News, some members of the Bank of Japan stated at a meeting earlier this month that Japan's real interest rates remain very low, suggesting that further rate hikes are possible. According to the meeting summary released Monday, at the two-day meeting that concluded on December 19th, one of the nine members stated, "Japan's real policy rate is currently among the lowest in the world. It is appropriate for the Bank of Japan to adjust the degree of monetary easing." The summary clearly indicates that the Bank of Japan's policy rate has not yet reached a neutral level. One member noted, "It can be said that we are still quite far from the neutral interest rate level."