The Bank of Japan recently sent a signal—possibly starting to sell ETFs as early as January this year. How large is this asset? About 83 trillion yen, roughly $534 billion USD. It sounds a bit alarming, but there's no need to panic. Because this kind of selling won't be completed all at once, but will be a gradual process, potentially spanning over ten or even several decades, so the short-term impact on the market will be limited.

However, the deeper significance of this move is worth paying attention to. Coupled with the yen's interest rate hikes, we can see that the central bank is gradually adjusting its policy stance—from the previous easing environment to a tightening phase. This shift perfectly aligns with this week's rate hike decision and matches market expectations for the central bank to continue raising interest rates in the future. In other words, this is not an isolated policy action but part of an overall change in the central bank's policy framework. For the yen and investors relying on yen arbitrage trading, this rhythm requires close monitoring.