[Former Bank of Japan Official: BOJ May Further Raise Interest Rates, Target Could Be 1.50%] Jin10 Data, December 22 – Former Bank of Japan monetary policy committee member Makoto Sakurai predicts that the next window for the BOJ to raise interest rates to 1% could be around June or July next year, though the exact timing will depend on economic performance, wage growth, and inflation trends. He also pointed out that further rate hikes thereafter may face greater challenges as rates gradually approach neutral levels, even though the BOJ has not explicitly defined this value. Sakurai believes that within the BOJ, 1.75% is likely considered the current estimated level for the neutral rate. If this judgment holds, then raising rates to 1.50% would still be significantly below the neutral level, thereby preserving policy space for potential rate cuts in the future if necessary. He emphasized that the BOJ may aim to raise rates at a pace of approximately once every six months but is increasingly concerned about political pressure from the Kishida administration. He believes this might be the reason Governor Kazuo Ueda has recently maintained an ambiguous stance in communications.