BOJ chief denies rate hike would seriously damage Japan economy

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Wednesday the central bank's interest rate hike will not significantly damage the economy, adding that it is more focused on the risk of a weakening yen accelerating inflation.The BOJ raised its key short-term rate to around 0.25 percent from a range of zero to 0.1 percent at the end of a two-day policy meeting. It also decided to slow the pace of government bond buying in a further shift toward policy normalization.The rate hike, the BOJ's second in four months, came despite Ueda still seeing "some distance" before achieving its 2 percent inflation go…READ FULL ARTICLE