Japan's central bank raises benchmark interest rate to 1.25%, the highest in 31 years
Japan’s central bank on Friday raised the benchmark interest rate to 1.25% from 1.0%, a 31-year-high. The Bank of Japan has been trying to normalize monetary policy after decades of keeping interest rates near or below zero to try to encourage more borrowing and spending to counter deflation and pull Japan’s economy out of the doldrums.