MNI BRIEF: Japan Ishiba To Dissolve Lower House For Election
MNI (TOKYO) - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will dissolve the lower house of parliament on Wednesday afternoon to hold a snap election on Oct. 27 before the Bank of Japan’s policy-setting meeting on Oct. 30-31.
The BOJ is expected to keep its policy interest rate steady at 0.25% as policymakers examin the impact of July's rate hike and volatile financial markets caused by high uncertainty over the U.S. economy. (See MNI POLICY: BOJ Rate View Intact, Despite Dovish PM Remarks)
BOJ officials and market players are focused on the policy decisions by the Federal Reserve on Nov. 6-7, its communication with market players and the impact of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election on markets.
Japanese lower house election campaigning will start on Oct. 15 with all 465 lower house members defending their seats.
Ishiba, the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, will aim to at least maintain the current 258 number of seats in the lower house under his leadership.