The slowdown in Japan's wage growth in May is unlikely to deter the Bank of Japan from raising rates further, says Abhijit Surya at Capital Economics in a commentary. Preliminary estimates released earlier showed Japan's labor cash earnings growth slowed to 3.2% in May from 3.6% in April, the senior APAC economist notes. "Despite their recent easing, measures of base pay growth remain well above their 2025 average and elevated relative to historical norms," Surya says. "We doubt today's data will alter the BoJ's assessment that the labor market is very tight," the economist adds. Capital Economics maintains its view for BOJ to raise rates to 2% by end-2027. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)