Markets still show almost no chance of a BOJ tightening in October, but have 6 bp of hikes for December, so about a 24% chance of a quarter-point rise. Then again, the market only has the current 0.25% rate reaching 0.5% by the end of next year, so it's not exactly a hawkish outlook.

Japan's August retail sales climbed 2.8% year on year, beating Reuters poll estimates of a 2.3% rise, and up from a revised 2.7% rise in July.

Japanese stocks will likely tumble on Monday after Shigeru Ishiba’s surprise victory in the ruling party’s leadership race raised expectations that interest rates will increase.