The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis, underscoring its confidence that rising wages will keep inflation stable around its 2% target.

Japan's central bank has increased the cost of borrowing to its highest level in 17 years after consumer price rises accelerated in December. The move by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to raise its short-term policy rate to "around 0.5 per cent" comes just hours after the latest economic data showed prices rose last month at the fastest pace in 16 months.

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

The Bank of Japan raised its key interest rate to about 0.5% from 0.25% Friday, noting that inflation is holding at a desirable target level. “The economy is gradually recovering,” BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda told reporters after a two-day policy board meeting in Tokyo.

Japan's central bank raised interest rates to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis and revised up its inflation forecasts.

The Bank of Japan increased interest rates on Friday to their highest in 17 years and signalled more hikes to come, sending the yen higher against the dollar.

The Bank of Japan hiked interest rates on Friday to their highest level in 17 years and signalled more were in the pipeline despite fears of turmoil under US President

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,