The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.38% to close at 65,019 on Friday, marking a third consecutive session of gains after the Bank of Japan raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25% in a widely anticipated move. The decision was not unanimous: board members Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato voted against the hike, highlighting internal resistance to a faster pace of policy tightening.
Despite the dissent, Governor Kazuo Ueda stated at the post-meeting press conference that the BOJ remains ready to lift rates further and recalibrate the degree of monetary accommodation as economic conditions evolve. On the data front, official figures showed that Japan’s core inflation eased to 1.7% in August from 1.8% in July, its first decline in four months.
Equity gains were led by technology and AI-related stocks, mirroring overnight strength on Wall Street. Notable advancers included Kioxia (up 9.4%), SoftBank Group (1.1%), Advantest (6%), Lasertec (8.7%), and Taiyo Yuden (4.2%).
