Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda opens the two-day IMES conference in Tokyo on Wednesday, with Fed, RBA, IMF and BIS representatives among speakers across sessions on price shocks, trade and monetary imbalances. Programme: Day One, May 27 — Times in JST / GMT / US Eastern9:00 JST / 00:00 GMT / 20:00 ET (Tue) — Opening RemarksSpeaker: Kazuo Ueda, Bank of JapanUeda opens the conference at a pivotal moment for the BOJ, which has been cautiously unwinding its ultra-loose policy settings against a backdrop of renewed imported inflation from the Middle East conflict and persistent uncertainty over whether domestic wage growth can sustain a normalisation path.9:20 JST / 00:20 GMT / 20:20 ET (Tue) — Mayekawa LectureChairperson: Neel Kashkari, Federal Reserve Bank of MinneapolisLecturer: Donald Kohn, The Brookings InstitutionKashkari chairs the prestigious Mayekawa Lecture. The Minneapolis Fed president has been among the more hawkish voices on the FOMC, recently signalling the Fed could move toward rate hikes if Middle East-driven inflation pressures continue to build. Kohn, a former Fed vice chair, is expected to set an academic tone for the day's proceedings.11:00 JST / 02:00 GMT / 22:00 ET (Tue) — Session 1: Optimal Monetary Policy with Uncertain Private Sector ForesightChairperson: Kartik Athreya, Federal Reserve Bank of New YorkPresenter: David López Salido, Banco de EspañaDiscussant: Åsa Olli Segendorf, Sveriges RiksbankA technical session examining how central banks should set policy when private sector expectations are poorly anchored or hard to read, directly relevant in an environment where consumer inflation expectations are drifting higher across multiple major economies.13:20 JST / 04:20 GMT / 00:20 ET — Keynote SpeechChairperson: Peter Kažimír, National Bank of SlovakiaSpeaker: Markus Brunnermeier, Princeton UniversityBrunnermeier, one of the world's leading monetary economists, delivers the keynote. His work on financial fragility and liquidity is likely to inform discussion of how central banks navigate tightening cycles without triggering instability.14:15 JST / 05:15 GMT / 01:15 ET — Session 2: Global Networks, Monetary Policy and TradeChairperson: Tao Zhang, Bank for International SettlementsPresenter: Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan, Brown UniversityDiscussant: Ippei Fujiwara, Keio University / University of TokyoWith the Strait of Hormuz closure reshaping global trade flows, this session on how supply network disruptions transmit through monetary conditions carries immediate policy relevance. The BIS chair adds institutional weight to what is shaping up as one of the day's more market-relevant academic sessions.15:45 JST / 06:45 GMT / 02:45 ET — Session 3: Global Price Shocks and International Monetary CoordinationChairperson: Josef Meichenitsch, Austrian Central BankPresenter: Iván Werning, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDiscussant: Kosuke Aoki, University of TokyoArguably the session most directly connected to current events, examining how central banks should coordinate — or not — when a common external shock hits economies with different inflation starting points and policy stances. With the ECB moving toward hikes while the Fed holds, the coordination question is live.17:00 JST / 08:00 GMT / 04:00 ET — Policy Panel Discussion 1: Monetary Policy and ImbalancesModerator: Takeo Hoshi, University of TokyoPanelists: Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas (IMF), Andrew Hauser (RBA), Lorie Logan (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas), Eli Remolona Jr. (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas)The day's centrepiece for markets. Hauser represents the RBA, which has tightened at each of its three meetings this year against a backdrop of sticky underlying inflation. Logan has been a key voice on Fed balance sheet policy and reserve dynamics. Gourinchas brings the IMF's global growth and financial stability lens. Any signals on rate trajectories, tolerance for above-target inflation, or views on international spillovers from the Hormuz shock will be the most market-sensitive output of the day. RBA's Hauser is on the agenda late ... saving the best 'til last!---The conference agenda is tilted heavily toward the policy challenges that matter most to markets right now: global price shocks, trade network disruptions, and monetary imbalances. With Logan, Hauser and Gourinchas on the evening panel, any remarks touching on the inflation outlook, rate trajectories or international coordination will be closely watched. The BOJ's choice of themes reflects its own acute dilemma: how to normalise policy in an environment of externally driven price shocks without destabilising a recovery that remains domestically fragile. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.