[Former Bank of Japan Chief Economist: Expects December Rate Hike, Target 2%] Seisaku Kameda, former chief economist of the Bank of Japan, said on Friday that he expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in December and continue to increase borrowing costs next year until rates reach 2% to combat rising inflationary pressures. He noted that Friday's global market sell-off led to a sharp decline in Japanese stocks, but unless market volatility continues until the monetary policy meeting on December 17-18, it is unlikely to prevent the Bank of Japan from raising rates next month. He stated, "If the AI boom completely collapses and leads to a severe downturn in the US economy, which in turn impacts the Japanese economy, then the Bank of Japan may pause rate hikes." He believes that in other scenarios, the Bank of Japan is likely to raise the policy rate to 1.5% in December, and then continue to raise rates at a pace of approximately once per quarter until reaching the final rate level of 2%. Kameda stated, "With corporate profits remaining strong and the food tax reduction plan expected to support consumption, the Japanese economy can withstand such rate hikes."