Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda was hospitalized on June 10 for treatment of an infected liver cyst and will miss the BOJ’s policy meeting scheduled for June 15-16, 2026 [1, 2]. Ueda, 74, is expected to remain in the hospital for about two weeks but will continue working remotely during his recovery [1, 3, 2, 4].
Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino will act as chair and preside over the June meeting in Ueda’s absence [1, 5, 6, 7, 3, 2, 4, 8]. Another Deputy Governor, Shinichi Uchida, will hold the post-meeting press conference on June 16 [1, 5, 6, 7, 3, 2, 4, 8, 9]. Ueda will not vote at the meeting but plans to issue a written statement on his views [5, 6, 3, 4, 8].
The BOJ is widely expected to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points from 0.75% to 1.0%, reaching the highest level since 1995 [1, 2, 4, 10, 11]. Market participants largely anticipate a cautious but steady approach to rate hikes aimed at controlling inflation and supporting the weak yen [5, 6, 8, 10, 11]. Economist Saisuke Sakai said Ueda’s absence will not change the BOJ's focus on inflation risks over geopolitical growth concerns [10].
Investors expressed uncertainty about how clearly Deputy Governor Uchida will communicate the BOJ’s stance at the press conference compared to Ueda’s usual style. Hiroshi Namioka, chief strategist at T&D Asset Management, said, "Especially in the bond market, investors have become accustomed to Ueda’s communication style — not just what he says, but his facial expressions and the mood he creates at the press conference. Without Ueda, it may be harder to gauge what the BOJ is thinking and for bond and FX traders to interpret the bank’s outlook, which could fuel uncertainty" [5]. Carol Kong, currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said, "A 25-basis-point hike still looks all but certain. The bigger question for markets is how Uchida handles the press conference" [5].
This marks the first time since current decision-making arrangements began in 1998 that the BOJ Governor has been absent from a policy meeting [4]. Ueda is expected to attend the next policy meeting on July 30-31 after his recovery [1, 3, 2, 4].
