BOJ chief says rate hike must be discussed despite Iran war uncertainty

TOKYO - Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Wednesday the central bank needs to "thoroughly" discuss the pros and cons of raising the policy interest rate at its next monetary policy meeting later this month even if the situation in the Middle East remains unclear.

Monetary policy decisions should be made on the premise that commodity-importing Japan is in a situation where the "secondary spillover effects of inflation stemming from higher crude oil prices are more likely to lead to an upward deviation in underlying inflation," Ueda said in a speech at a Kyodo News event in Tokyo.