[Former Bank of Japan Policy Board Member: BOJ May Raise Interest Rates in April] According to Deep Tide TechFlow on February 13, citing Jin10 Data, former Bank of Japan Policy Board member Seiji Adachi stated that the BOJ is likely to use the large amount of new data available in April as an opportunity to raise interest rates, disregarding market speculation about a possible rate hike in March. In an interview on Monday, Seiji Adachi said: 'A rate hike in March would carry risks because it would be based on expectations rather than confirmed signals. April will provide a wealth of data to confirm improvements in underlying inflation.' Adachi's view aligns with the growing market expectation that the committee led by Governor Kazuo Ueda may take action in the spring—earlier than most economists had predicted following the last rate hike in December. He noted that while there are concerns that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi might hinder the BOJ's policy normalization process, especially after her overwhelming election victory last week, she is unlikely to block a rate hike as such actions could backfire. Adachi stated: 'Sanae Takaichi seems to have become very sensitive to market dynamics. If she tells the BOJ not to raise rates, the potential market reaction would be a depreciation of the yen.'