In January, food prices rose by 7.3 percent in Japan, an inflation rate that has never been seen before

Kazuo Ueda, the incoming governor of Japan’s central bank, told a parliamentary hearing in Tokyo on Friday that the Japanese central bank must maintain ultra-low interest rates to support the fragile economy, warning of the dangers of monetary tightening due to cost-driven inflation. Ueda can replace Haruhiko Kuroda, who has been in the post for ten years, in April. Overall, Ueda wants to represent continuity, said Westpac senior analyst Sean Callow.