At its monetary policy meeting on the 31st, the Bank of Japan decided by a majority vote to keep its policy interest rate unchanged. Governor Kazuo Ueda said at a press conference that underlying inflation is approaching 2 percent and that upside risks need to be given more weight, stressing that rate hikes will be thoroughly debated at meetings from September onward. At the meeting, board member Hajime Takata proposed a consecutive rate hike to 1.25 percent, but the proposal was rejected by a majority. Governor Ueda indicated that if the bank judges policy to be too accommodative, a faster pace of rate hikes could be possible.