[Sanae Takaichi Expresses Support for Bank of Japan Rate Hike, Reaffirms Coordination Between Government and Central Bank] Jin10 Data, June 22 – Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last week reiterated the conventional stance of coordination between the government and the central bank, signaling her acceptance of the Bank of Japan's latest rate hike decision. On Monday, Takaichi stated: 'We look forward to close cooperation between the central bank and the government to implement appropriate monetary policies based on developments in the economy, prices, and financial conditions, in order to sustainably achieve the 2% price stability target.' As a supporter of accommodative monetary policy, Takaichi made these remarks following the Bank of Japan's rate hike last week. Data released last week showed that Japan's nationwide consumer price index for May remained at a 1.4% increase, partly due to government subsidies that suppressed energy costs. The Takaichi administration has recently compiled an additional budget to continue mitigating the impact of the Middle East crisis on household spending in the coming months. Nevertheless, the Bank of Japan expects that high energy prices resulting from the Middle East conflict will continue to exert significant upward pressure on inflation. This has also heightened economists' expectations for another rate hike by the Bank of Japan within the year, possibly as early as September.