On Thursday, the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to heights not seen since the mid-1990s, closing a chapter on three decades of near-zero monetary policy born from financial crisis. The decision, reached over two days of deliberation, was not unanimous — two of nine board members dissented, revealing the quiet but consequential debate over whether Japan's economy is truly ready to stand without the long shelter of cheap money. It is a moment that asks an old question in a new register: when does support become dependency, and when does the cure of caution become a risk of its