The Bank of Japan will likely raise interest rates again around June or July, and seek to hike its policy rate to at least 1.5% in the next two years, former BOJ board member Makoto Sakurai said on Tuesday.

Further deliberations are expected to be required for the Bank of Japan to explore future interest rate hikes, with its key policy rate having approached the highest level in three decades, threatening flagging consumption.

The pace of interest rate cuts has been the focus for much of the world, but in Japan, things are going in the opposite direction. The BOJ just hiked its key policy rate to its highest level in 17 years,