The Bank of Japan may raise interest rates twice by the end of the current fiscal year, after making a landmark shift in its policy focus toward mounting inflation risk, former board member Makoto Sakurai said on Friday. The central bank justified Tuesday's decision to raise its short-term policy rate to a 31-year high of 1 per cent to forestall the risk of underlying inflation exceeding its 2 per cent target. That contrasted with the way the bank explained past hikes as reflecting confidence in progress toward durably achieving its 2 per cent target. "It was a major turning point in monetary policy as it meant the ... (full story)