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BIS central bank policy rates (M.JP) · The Bank of Japan, end of month

What is the policy rate of the Bank of Japan?

The policy rate of the Bank of Japan was 1.250% in the month ended , up 0.750 percentage points from a year earlier.

Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month, not seasonally adjusted, each month

January 1946 to September 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as published

Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month, not seasonally adjusted, each month (January 1946 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month, not seasonally adjusted, each month (September 2016 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month, not seasonally adjusted, each month (September 2024 to September 2026)

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .

Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month, change from a year earlier, each month (ours)

January 1946 to September 2026Ours, from the published values

Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (January 1946 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (September 2016 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (September 2024 to September 2026)

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .

Each point is one month of the series as the source publishes it, or a change worked out from those values (ours). The US recessions are shaded. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

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Inspect and compare dates

The newest month beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. The last ten years are in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".

MeasureLatestThe month beforeA year earlierFive years earlierTen years earlier
Month
Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month1.250%1.000%0.500%−0.100%−0.100%
Change over a year+0.750 pts+0.500 pts+0.250 pts0.000 ptsn/a

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Observed .

Right now

The policy rate of the Bank of Japan was 1.250% in September 2026, the highest since March 1995.

Over a year it is up 0.750 percentage points (ours).

See every month of the last ten years

ChangeOurs

PeriodThenChange
One month1.000%, the rate in +0.250 percentage points
Three months1.000%, the rate in +0.250 percentage points
Twelve months0.500%, the rate in +0.750 percentage points
Five years−0.100%, the rate in +1.350 percentage points
Ten years−0.100%, the rate in +1.350 percentage points

In historyOurs

The policy rate of the Bank of Japan of 1.250% in was higher than in 261 of the 852 other months since , the same in 0 and lower in 591.

Highest since : 9.000% in . Lowest since : −0.100% in .

AverageOurs

Average since : 3.8425% (ours, a plain mean of the 853 months).

ComparedOurs

Over a year the policy rate of the Bank of Japan is up 0.750 percentage points, which ranks 4 of the 38 rows of the table, where 1 is the largest change.

The table sets the policy rate of the Bank of Japan beside the economies on the central bank rates page, by the change over a year in each one's newest month.

See every row of the ranking

Understanding the policy rate of the Bank of Japan

Where it stands today

The policy rate of the Bank of Japan was 1.250% in September 2026.

What does the policy rate of the Bank of Japan measure?

This is the policy rate of the Bank of Japan: the level the bank encourages the uncollateralised overnight call rate, the rate at which banks lend to each other for one day, to stay around. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) collects the policy rates of central banks and publishes, for each economy, the rate in force at the end of each month.

Read more

From 21 September 2016 to 20 March 2024 the series is the short-term policy interest rate of the bank's guideline for market operations. From 4 April 2013 to 20 September 2016 the BIS gives no policy rate; its monthly series still holds a value for April 2013 (0.05 percent) and has none from May 2013 to August 2016. From 31 October 2008 to 3 April 2013, and again from 21 March to 31 July 2024, the bank encouraged the rate to stay around a level or inside a band; for a band the BIS series holds the middle (0.05 percent for a band of 0 to 0.1 percent).

What 500metrics adds: the change over one month, three months, a year and five years, the highest and lowest value since the series begins, and how the change over a year compares with the other economies on the central bank rates page.

The numbers behind the chart

What was the policy rate of the Bank of Japan in each month?The last ten years, 120 months, newest first; the chart and the file have every month since Jan 1946
Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month, not seasonally adjusted, by month, newest first (Percent a year, end of month; the change ours)
MonthValueChange over a year
1.250%+0.750 pts
1.000%+0.500 pts
1.000%+0.500 pts
1.000%+0.500 pts
0.750%+0.250 pts
0.750%+0.250 pts
0.750%+0.250 pts
0.750%+0.250 pts
0.750%+0.250 pts
0.750%+0.500 pts
0.500%+0.250 pts
0.500%+0.250 pts
0.500%+0.250 pts
0.500%+0.250 pts
0.500%+0.450 pts
0.500%+0.450 pts
0.500%+0.450 pts
0.500%+0.450 pts
0.500%+0.450 pts
0.500%+0.600 pts
0.500%+0.600 pts
0.250%+0.350 pts
0.250%+0.350 pts
0.250%+0.350 pts
Show 96 more rows
MonthValueChange over a year
0.250%+0.350 pts
0.250%+0.350 pts
0.050%+0.150 pts
0.050%+0.150 pts
0.050%+0.150 pts
0.050%+0.150 pts
0.050%+0.150 pts
−0.100%0.000 pts
−0.100%0.000 pts
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−0.100%n/a
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How does it compare with the economies on the central bank rates page?Ranked by the change over a year
Policy rate of the Bank of Japan, end of month beside the economies on the central bank rates page, newest month of each, by the change over a year (ours); equal changes share a rank
SeriesMonthValueChange over a yearRank
Colombia12.000%+2.750 pts1
Australia4.600%+1.000 pts2
Indonesia5.750%+1.000 pts2
Japan1.250%+0.750 pts4
Denmark2.100%+0.500 pts5
Euro Area2.500%+0.500 pts5
Iceland8.000%+0.500 pts5
Norway4.500%+0.500 pts5
South Korea3.000%+0.500 pts5
Czech Republic3.750%+0.250 pts10
South Africa7.250%+0.250 pts10
China3.000%0.000 pts12
Malaysia2.750%0.000 pts12
Morocco2.250%0.000 pts12
Peru4.250%0.000 pts12
Philippines5.000%0.000 pts12
Romania6.500%0.000 pts12
Serbia5.750%0.000 pts12
Switzerland0.000%0.000 pts12
Canada2.250%−0.250 pts20
Chile4.500%−0.250 pts20
Hong Kong4.250%−0.250 pts20
India5.250%−0.250 pts20
Kuwait3.500%−0.250 pts20
New Zealand2.750%−0.250 pts20
Saudi Arabia4.500%−0.250 pts20
Sweden1.750%−0.250 pts20
United Kingdom3.750%−0.250 pts20
United States3.875%−0.250 pts20
Thailand1.000%−0.500 pts30
Hungary5.500%−1.000 pts31
Mexico6.500%−1.000 pts31
Poland3.750%−1.000 pts31
North Macedonia4.250%−1.100 pts34
Brazil13.750%−1.250 pts35
Israel3.250%−1.250 pts35
Russia14.000%−3.000 pts37
Turkey37.000%−3.500 pts38

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What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite

What this number cannot tell you

  • The BIS takes most of its policy rate series from the central banks as national data. A month's value is the rate in force at the end of the month, so a rate that is changed and changed back inside one month does not show.
  • The BIS series for Japan has no value from May 2013 to August 2016, and the charts show a gap.
  • Banks define their policy rate in different ways, so the levels of two economies are not strictly comparable. The rate is the bank's own, in its own currency, and is not adjusted for inflation.
  • The changes, the ranks and the highest and lowest values are ours, worked out from the values the BIS publishes; a change is in percentage points.

Observed . Checked .

How to cite this

Bank for International Settlements, central bank policy rates, The Bank of Japan, end of month, through September 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "What is the policy rate of the Bank of Japan?", https://500metrics.com/central-bank-rates/japan.

Can the data be downloaded?central-bank-rates-japan.csv

Download the full history as CSV: 853 rows, to , 15,757 bytes.

Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0.

Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Page updated

Sources

Bank for International Settlements, central bank policy rates (source) Terms: BIS terms of permitted use of statistics.