Bank of Japan Raises Rates From Virtually Nil

The Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the first time in 10 years, rejecting an unprecedented request from the government for a delay and ending its 18-month experiment with virtually free money. In a declaration of independence, the central bank’s Policy Board voted by an undisclosed majority to raise its overnight rate target to 0.25% from virtually zero. “The Bank of Japan feels confident that Japan’s economy has reached the stage where deflationary concern has been dispelled, the condition for lifting the zero interest rate policy,” the central bank said. But the bank stressed that the rate hike was “a small adjustment to the degree of monetary easing” and vowed to continue to support economic recovery.