According to Jinshi, former Bank of Japan official Eiji Maeda said that if the economy continues to recover moderately, the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates again as early as July and continue to raise borrowing costs next year and beyond. He predicted that the Bank of Japan may reduce its current monthly bond purchases of about 6 trillion yen later this year. He speculated based on the minutes of the April meeting that the Bank of Japan is clearly considering further rate hikes, and the next rate hike may come anytime from July to October. He also pointed out that the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates every six months starting next year, or accelerate the pace of rate hikes to once a quarter depending on economic and price developments.