The Bank of Japan's June Summary of Opinions revealed broad support among policymakers for continuing interest rate hikes. Board members agreed that further rate hikes are fully warranted if the economy and prices evolve in line with projections, with some noting the current policy rate remains below the estimated neutral rate of around 2%. A gradual increase every few months was proposed to avoid more aggressive tightening later, though one member cautioned against near-term hikes, warning they could curb investment and trigger declines in inflation, production, and employment. Following the release, the Nikkei 225 Index slid 0.6% to drop below the 69,500 threshold, while the yen traded around 161.5 per dollar.