Yuya Yokota, a Forex trader at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank in New York, stated that if wages continue to grow, the Bank of Japan may have reason to raise interest rates further this year, which could strengthen the yen. "Both the Bank of Japan and the government have declared that Japan is in a state of inflation," he said. "If labor unions continue to push for wage increases, then interest rate hikes in September and December may be reasonable, and in this case, the yen could stabilize around 140." It is expected that USD/JPY will fluctuate between 148 and 155 in the short term. Yokota mentioned that while the expectation of the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike is Bullish for the yen, concerns about potential tariffs that the USA may impose on Japan balance this out.