PANews reported on April 14 that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday that it expects the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to gradually raise interest rates, but at a slightly faster pace than anticipated six months ago. In its World Economic Outlook report, the IMF stated that after growing by 1.2% in 2025, Japan's economy is expected to grow at 0.7% in 2026 and 0.6% in 2027, roughly unchanged from its October 2025 forecast. Government fiscal stimulus and measures to curb fuel prices will offset the adverse effects of weak overseas demand and the Middle East conflict. With declining food and commodity prices, inflation in Japan is expected to moderate this year and approach the BOJ's 2% target by the end of 2027. The BOJ's policy rate is expected to rise gradually, at a slightly faster pace than anticipated in October 2025, eventually moving towards a neutral interest rate level of around 1.5%.