In his last policy meeting, BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda did not provide any new indications that would have pleased the markets.

USD/JPY strengthened its position at around 136.60 during the Friday (March 10) Asia session, still within its highest range since December 2022. The Bank of Japan's policy meeting earlier in the morning did not provide any new indications that pleased the market, resulting in the continued weakening trend of the yen against various other major currencies.

usdjpyUSD/JPY Daily chart via TradingView

Governor Haruhiko Kuroda did not make any policy changes in his final policy meeting before retiring on April 8, 2023. As expected, Japan's interest rate remained at -0.10%, and the target yield for the 10-year JGB remained at 25 basis points around zero.

Kazuo Ueda, Kuroda's successor, has emphasized the need for the central bank to maintain an ultra-loose monetary policy until there is clear evidence that inflation can sustainably exceed the 2% target. Analysts agree that Ueda is unlikely to make any sudden policy changes in his first meeting on April 27-28.

"All in all, the BOJ under Ueda will keep up monetary easing while paying attention to market functionality and they won't go for a major change immediately," said Nobuyasu Atago, chief economist at Ichiyoshi Securities and a former BOJ official.

Nevertheless, a Bloomberg survey conducted after Ueda's testimony last month showed that two-thirds of observers still expect a change in BoJ policy in the middle of this year. 41% of respondents cited June as the most appropriate time for such a moment.

Given the distance of that projection, USD/JPY will be more influenced by speculation about Fed interest rates and US economic data in the short term. The market's main focus includes the Non-farm Payroll report tonight and US inflation next week.