Bank of Japan keeps key interest rate unchanged, warning of trade uncertainty

BOJ really in a tough spot, as inflation is 'ROARING' in Japan, we all commonly see +20% price increases as the new normal when buying groceries or other goods.

Raising rates will act to strengthen yen and thus help on the "imported" inflation front, but Japan's accumulated debt becoming harder to service, as 40year JGB's passed 3% for FIRST time in history = Classic Debt Trap

Japan exported millions of cars to US in 2024 and much of this activity will have to shift to the US shortly in order for automakers to protect their market share. Even worse are Japan's automakers investments in Canada and Mexico, subject to high tariffs as well.

Given above serious disruption even if well telegraphed, BOJ must be VERY worried about Japan's labor market, given Auto is largest sector for employment.

@HopeSpringsEternal

Japan exported millions of cars to US in 2024...

No, Japan exported a little over one million cars to the US in 2024. About 1.4 million to be more exact.

...and much of this activity will have to shift to the US

This already happens, and has been increasingly happening for a decades. You don't know this? Japanese auto companies manufactured about 3.3 million cars in the US in 2024. And all these were wholly made by US workers.

Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda and Subaru all have multiple massive production plants located all across the US, and the number of cars sold in the US that were actually "made in Japan" represent less than one-third of the amount of "Japanese" cars that are sold there. When including their dealer networks together with production staff, Japanese car companies directly employ almost half a million US workers. And when also including R&D and brand spin-off jobs, the number of US workers involved with J-car makers is well over a million.

So if Japanese car companies were taken as a whole, they rank as the third largest employer in the US, not far after either Walmart or Amazon.