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Japan has cleared a crucial threshold for officially declaring an end to long-term deflation, according to Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa. This optimism could influence the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) approach to future interest rate hikes.
Inflation has exceeded the BOJ’s 2% target for nearly three years, but the government has hesitated to declare deflation over, viewing it as a prolonged period of weak wage growth and subdued consumption. Akazawa stated that all four key indicators—the output gap, consumer price index, GDP deflator, and unit labor costs—have turned positive. Notably, Japan’s output gap turned positive in Q4 2024 for the first time in six quarters, signaling strong demand.
“We hope the BOJ closely communicates with the government and continues guiding policy appropriately to ensure sustainable inflation,” Akazawa said.
The BOJ raised interest rates to 0.5% in January after ending its decade-long stimulus, citing progress toward achieving stable 2% inflation. However, the government has remained cautious about officially declaring an end to deflation, as doing so might limit its ability to introduce further fiscal stimulus.
Some analysts suggest that announcing the end of deflation could boost political support ahead of Japan’s upper house election in July. Whether this declaration leads to further monetary tightening remains to be seen, but Japan’s economy appears to be on a solid recovery path.
