Former Bank of Japan board member Yutaka Harada said he did not expect the negative interest rate policy to continue for eight years. At the time of its introduction, he had anticipated it would be effective based on results in Europe, but a series of worsening external conditions, including a consumption tax hike, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the invasion of Ukraine, prevented an early exit. He reflected that unexpected side effects, such as a sharp decline in long-term interest rates, led to difficulties for life insurers in managing their assets and sparked public backlash.