TOKYO – Two words sprang to mind when the Bank of Japan lifted its policy rate to a 31-year high of 1.25% on Friday: Scott Bessent. No, the US Treasury secretary didn’t cause the 25-basis-point increase announced by Governor Kazuo Ueda. The BOJ was responding to a far more pressing reality: inflation continues to outpace [...] The post Bank of Japan rate hike exposes cracks in Bessent’s facade appeared first on Asia Times .