iShares MSCI Japan ETF

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The central bank's governor said the Middle East situation, AI demand and foreign-exchange rates would affect the timing of the decision.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rebounded sharply on Friday as lower US Treasury yields and a late Wall Street recovery encouraged investors back into stocks battered by this week's AI-led sell-off. The benchmark rose 1.82% to 65,598.63 by 10:02 am in Tokyo, after plunging 4.9% on Thursday to 64,425.95, its biggest daily percentage decline since March.

South Korean and Japanese stocks rebounded on Wednesday as investors returned to semiconductor and AI shares hammered in Tuesday's rout, though the recovery stopped well short of signalling an all-clear. The KOSPI was up about 1.5% at 6,123 by 11:30 am in Seoul after briefly gaining more than 2%, while the Nikkei 225 rose 0.61% to 68,193.13 at Tokyo's midday break.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Monday there were no plans ​for a fresh release of crude oil from national reserves ‌as the country had already released supplies.

Asian market opened the week firmer on Monday as a sharp slowdown in US hiring pushed investors towards a Federal Reserve pause this month, giving rate-sensitive technology stocks room to rebound. Japan led the advance, with the Nikkei 225 jumping 2.5% above 70,000 to a three-month high, while Taiwan's Taiex gained about 2.6%.

The yen consolidated against other currencies ahead of the BOJ's tankan survey and its summary of opinions from its September meeting, which are due today.

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Asian stocks came under renewed pressure on Tuesday as rising oil prices and a global bond selloff pushed borrowing costs higher, but the damage was uneven across the region's two major technology-heavy markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell about 1.2% to 65,070.58 in early trade, while South Korea's KOSPI was down a much smaller 0.2% near 6,877 late in the morning.

Global investors looking beyond saturated US stocks should pivot toward Japan and Europe – says Andrew Slimmon – a senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley. Speaking recently with CNBC, Slimmon highlighted a major shift underway across international equity markets.

Nomura's Rob Subbaraman says Japan's bond market is “flashing warning signs” as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pursues fiscal stimulus aimed at lifting nominal growth. He says rising borrowing costs could threaten that strategy, while largely cost-driven inflation complicates the Bank of Japan's tightening path.