[Yen Depreciation Becomes a 'Catalyst' for Rate Hikes, Bank of Japan's Hawkish Stance Exceeds Expectations] Jin10 News, February 2 – The summary of opinions from the Bank of Japan's January policy meeting shows that as authorities closely monitor the impact of yen weakness on inflation, internal recognition of the necessity for timely rate hikes is growing. According to the summary of the two-day policy meeting that concluded on January 23, one of the nine committee members stated: 'Given that addressing rising prices is Japan's top priority, the central bank should not spend too much time assessing the impact of raising policy rates but should take the next step, i.e., a rate hike, without delay when the timing is right.' The summary signals that the committee led by Kazuo Ueda may raise the benchmark interest rate at a faster pace than the market generally expects (currently, the market anticipates rate hikes approximately every six months since the hike in December last year). The yen exchange rate appears to be a key factor, as the occurrences of 'yen depreciation' and 'foreign exchange' in the summary have doubled compared to the previous meeting.