The deputy governor of the Bank of Japan signaled to the markets: if inflation continues to move steadily towards the 2% target, the regulator is ready to raise interest rates further. This statement reinforced expectations that Japan may gradually abandon its long-standing ultra-soft policy. For global investors, such steps by Tokyo may mean a revision of the strategy of capital allocation in Asian assets, especially against the backdrop of multidirectional actions of the world's central banks.The rhetoric of the Japanese central bank put additional pressure on the USD/JPY pair, which overcame the low reached in March.In case the decline continues, support may be met by the market in the zone of 144.00 level and below.