Japan's economy is finally showing a broad upswing for the first time in years, but the BoJ and policymakers face pressure to defend the yen through tighter policy. The author argues this would be misguided—smothering the expansion to save the yen would sacrifice Japan's nascent recovery. For markets, the risk is that the BoJ over-prioritizes currency defense and tightens too much, hitting Japanese equities and risking a policy error.
•Japan is experiencing its first broadly positive economic moment in years, according to the author.
•The core policy tension is whether the Bank of Japan and other policymakers will prioritize yen support over sustaining economic expansion.
•Japan's post-Covid recovery has trailed most of the developed world, and its monetary tightening has been more gradual than that of other major economies.
•The article's title and tone ('Naw') signal the author's view that deliberately slowing the economy to defend the yen is the wrong trade-off.