The Bank of Japan on Friday raised its policy interest rate to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent, its highest level in about 17 years, amid expectations for robust wage hikes in this year's annual labor-management negotiations.Speaking at a press conference following its board meeting, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda expressed a willingness to tighten monetary policy further to curb inflation, although such steps could hinder domestic economic growth as consumption and investment shrink."Underlying inflation keeps rising gradually in line with our predictions," Ueda said, adding the financial environme…READ FULL ARTICLE
