The Bank of Japan must raise interest rates to at least 1% by the second half of the fiscal year beginning in April, hawkish board member Naoki Tamura said on Thursday, remarks that pushed up the yen as they reinforcing bets of a near-term rate hike.

Bank of Japan policy board member Naoki Tamura said, “Raising short-term interest rates to at least around 1% in the latter half of fiscal 2025 is necessary to reduce upside risk to prices and achieve the price stability target in a sustainable and stable manner.

Japan’s real rates clearly remain in negative territory even with last week’s interest rate hike, and the Bank of Japan will keep raising rates if its economic outlook is realized, according to Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino.

The Bank of Japan must raise short-term interest rates to at least 1% by the second half of fiscal 2025 to contain inflation risks, board member Naoki Tamura said on Thursday.

The Bank of Japan is likely to wait until the summer before it next raises interest rates, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Most Read from BloombergWhat Happened to Hanging Out on the Street?

Consumer inflation in the Tokyo metropolitan area picked up slightly in January, government data showed Friday, supporting the Bank of Japan’s plan to pursue more interest-rate increases.

The Bank of Japan will continue to raise interest rates if underlying inflation accelerates toward its 2% target as projected, a senior central bank official said on Wednesday.