Japan Weekly: Mr Akazawa goes to Washington

While the Bank of Japan will probably cut its forecasts for GDP growth at its May meeting, we still expect the Bank to signal confidence in meeting its 2% inflation target on a sustained basis. Indeed, the economic hit from US tariffs should be manageable if the trade negotiations between the US and Japan that kicked off this week result in Trump imposing a smaller 10% tariff instead of the 24% tariff threatened on Liberation Day.