The Bank of Japan must raise short-term interest rates to at least 1% by the second half of fiscal 2025 to contain inflation risks, board member Naoki Tamura said on Thursday.Tamura, a former commercial banker known as among the most hawkish members of the board,

The Bank of Japan’s most hawkish board member Naoki Tamura flagged the need for two or more interest rate hikes by early next year to contain upside risks for prices.Most Read from BloombergCitadel to

A speech by the board member is likely to further fuel market speculation that more rate hikes are in the pipeline.

The Bank of Japan must raise interest rates to at least 1% by the second half of the fiscal year beginning in April, hawkish board member Naoki Tamura said on Thursday, remarks that pushed up the yen as they reinforcing bets of a near-term rate hike.

In a speech to business leaders, Naoki Tamura said that the central bank should raise rates to 1% or higher in the fiscal half starting in October.