In Japan, A Monetary Moment Of Truth Draws Near

Big things are happening in Japan. The ground's shifting. And not because of any earthquakes. (Sorry.) On Wednesday, speculation continued to swirl around an imminent Bank of Japan rate hike after Toyota said it acquiesced to union demands for higher pay for a fourth consecutive year. The company's a linchpin of Japan's annual wage dialogue, which winds up this week just days ahead of the BoJ's March policy gathering. Sustainable wage growth has long been a prerequisite for policy normalizatio