BOJ Set for First Rate Hike in 31 Years: What It Means for Mortgages, Savings and the Yen

On day two of its policy meeting on the 16th, the BOJ is widely expected to raise its policy rate to a level unseen since 1995, a historic turn rather than a routine tweak: a whole generation of Japanese has barely known normal interest rates. Why it matters: rates reprice mortgages, deposits, the yen and stock valuations all at once. The trigger is imported inflation, the Iran situation lifting oil while a weak yen makes energy and materials costlier. Three things to watch: the yen (a hike should help it, but Fed hike expectations are driving dollar strength, so a quick reversal isn't guaranteed); mortgages (much of Japan's stock is floating-rate, a real stress test for recent buyers); and stocks (rate-sensitive growth names under pressure, banks and insurers favored, a shift from broad gains to divergence). For Taiwan readers it touches travel FX timing, the rising trajectory of property-loan costs, and the need to pick Japanese stocks through a hiking-cycle lens. Watch the hike's size, the official tone on further moves, the Fed, and how fast banks follow on deposit and mortgage rates.