FXStreet reports that economists at HSBC  see USD/JPY going slightly higher over the near-term, before correcting in the second half of the year.

“The BoJ is currently doing a review of its monetary policy easing and will announce the findings on Friday. The aim is to make monetary policy easing more sustainable for the long haul, as the 2% inflation goal still looks rather elusive, with progress being derailed by the pandemic. We believe the review may cause some temporary volatility in USD/JPY.” 

“We can envision USD/JPY falling in a knee-jerk reaction, if the BoJ is interpreted as not being sufficiently dovish (by widening the YCC range, tapering exchange-traded fund (ETF) purchases, and making only minor tweaks to the Negative Interest Rate Policy (NIRP).” 

“We believe USD/JPY will fluctuate with an upward bias over the near-term, before correcting slightly in 2H21. The correction could come about as more economies make progress with their vaccination programmes, thereby narrowing the US cyclical advantage, for example.”