Long time no see, Mr. Kuroda. He spokes to the Asahi newspaper in an interview and shared some of his thoughts on BOJ policy setting at the moment.The BOJ would raise the policy rate in April if you think about it normallyThe US-Iran war would only serve to accelerate interest rate hikesIt should not place a pause on the process of monetary policy normalisationSees no problem in the BOJ raising interest rates by 3-4 times to reach "around 1.50%" in 2027Well, it is always easier to say once you've crossed over to the other side. This isn't the first time we see bolder remarks from former policymakers at the Japanese central bank. They tend to be more vocal and speak with more courage once they've left their post. And Kuroda's remarks above are no exception.His comments speak to a clear, concise, and decisive viewpoint on the BOJ outlook. But if he were to still be at the central bank, you can expect it to be anything but all of that. That as policymakers tend to favour optionality and flexibility, while not wanting to pre-commit to anything so as to not upset markets. It is what it is in this day and age unfortunately.In any case, a move in April is still very much up in the air currently. Traders are pricing in ~63% odds of a rate hike but so far, we've not seen Ueda & co. provide much assurances on that.However, the communication drive this week involving the monthly core CPI estimate and revaluing the natural rate of interest perhaps does lean towards trying to justify a rate hike sooner rather than later. That as the spring wage negotiations outcome is setting the stage for the central bank to act. This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.