Jan 10 (Reuters) -

While the Bank of Japan has acknowledged that Japan Inc will be hiking wages again come April , , any increases at large firms will take time to affect the broader economy. Hence, the odds still favour a BOJ policy hold on Jan 24 as reflected in the weak yen .

Wage hikes are inevitable in Japan due to an aging population, labour shortages and as an increasingly large number of college graduates leave for higher pay abroad.

Wage rises do not seem to be keeping up with the increasingly higher cost of living too. Hikes at mid-sized and smaller firms and retail outlets are lagging even more.

This being the case, hikes in themselves are not enough for the BOJ to raise interest rates. Former BOJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda recently acknowledged the broad trend in wages, economic growth and inflation, and that rate hikes would be needed albeit in the coming years .

With the Ishiba government pressuring the BOJ to ensure continued growth, Ueda and others on the board may be loathe to pull the trigger just yet. Economy minister Ryosei Akazawa made this clear in comments Friday .

In contrast with his comments at central bank gatherings abroad, Ueda has sounded less decisive and communicative with the media at home. This is likely a function of strong pressure from the Japanese government to resist a rate hike for now. Related comments , .

For more click on

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BOJ keeps rates steady: USD/JPY:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

(Haruya Ida is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own. Editing by Sonali Desai)

((haruya.ida@thomsonreuters.com;))