[Former Chief Economist of the Bank of Japan Optimistic About April Rate Hike, Kazuo Ueda Faces Major Test During Tenure] Jin10 Data, April 2 – According to former Chief Economist of the Bank of Japan, Toshitaka Sekine, the Iran war is heightening the risk of inflationary pressures, providing strong justification for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates as early as this month. In an interview on Wednesday, Sekine stated: 'If the intention is to assess the situation, I believe action in April is feasible. By the end of April, we should at least know whether the subsequent impact of the Middle East situation is merely fleeting.' Although experts are still debating whether the geopolitical shock will be inflationary or deflationary for Japan, a resource-scarce nation, Sekine's remarks suggest that the Bank of Japan may have greater confidence in the necessity of a rate hike when setting policy on April 28. Sekine, who served at the Bank of Japan for over 30 years, speculates that central bank officials may align with his perspective, as the minutes from the March policy meeting clearly indicate growing concerns among committee members about inflation risks.