The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged at its last monetary policy meeting this year.  

At the meeting held on December 18 and 19, the central bank decided by a majority vote not to raise interest rates, although one of the nine policy members proposed an additional hike. 

 At a press conference, BOJ Governor Ueda Kazuo explained that there is still little data on the momentum of next year's wage hike and the impact of the incoming Trump administration's policies in the United States. 

S/ Ueda Kazuo, Bank of Japan Governor:  To reach the next rate hike decision, we need one more notch (in developments) 

Governor Ueda also said considerations have been made on the possibility of getting some idea of the momentum of the spring labor negotiations before next March when large companies typically respond to wage demands.
 

However, some market participants pointed out that there was no strong indication of a rate hike next January, which the market has already factored in, and the yen temporarily weakened to the 157 yen per dollar level after the press conference.