The Bank of Japan is widely expected to maintain ultralow rates at its first policy meeting of 2024 from Monday, opting to gauge the strength of wage growth and the economic and financial impact of a deadly earthquake that struck central Japan three weeks ago. The BOJ is likely to maintain policy, with cost-push factors, mainly blamed for the recent surge in prices, fading and “shunto” wage negotiations between management and labor unions set to get under way this week. In its economic and price outlook report due out Tuesday, the central bank is expected to downgrade its inflation forecast fo…