Optencis
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will announce its interest rate decision on 30 October 2026 at 02:30 UTC. The economic calendar lists both the forecast and the previous level of the policy rate as below 1.25%, which means no change is expected. The decision comes with the bank's quarterly Outlook Report and is followed by a press conference the same day.
The decision expected
The policy rate is the short-term interest rate the central bank sets to guide borrowing costs in Japan. In the economic calendar, the forecast and the previous reading are both shown as below 1.25%, so the consensus is for the BOJ to leave its rate where it is. Remember that a forecast is only an expectation: the board can still surprise, and that is when the yen tends to react most.
What the bank published recently
The BOJ has released several documents in the weeks before this meeting. Board Member Koeda gave a speech in Kumamoto on 15 October titled Economic Activity, Prices, and Monetary Policy in Japan. The bank also published its Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on 21 October, a survey of how banks see credit demand and lending conditions, and its Financial System Report on 23 October, which reviews the health of Japan's banks and markets. On 26 October it released the Services Producer Price Index for September, which tracks the prices companies charge each other for services.
The data that matter for this meeting
The last key figure before the decision is Tokyo core CPI, due on 29 October at 23:30 UTC. Tokyo inflation is published before the national figures and is often read as an early signal of price trends across Japan. Inflation matters because the BOJ adjusts its policy rate partly to keep price growth near its target. A reading far from forecasts just hours before the decision could shift how markets interpret the bank's message.
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First comes the statement at 02:30 UTC, with the rate decision and the vote of the board members. A split vote, with some members wanting a different move, can be read as a hint about future meetings. The Outlook Report follows right after, with the bank's updated projections for growth and inflation. Later the same day, the governor's press conference gives more detail on how the board sees the outlook, and comments there can move the yen as much as the decision itself.
Sources: ForexFactory, Bank of Japan.
