0216 GMT - If the Federal Reserve raises interest rates as markets project--more than three hikes by the middle of next year--rate differentials between the U.S. and Japan will narrow little under the current policy path priced in for the Bank of Japan, says Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities strategist Keisuke Tsuruta. The wide rate gap has been a major driver of the yen's weakness. Investors are likely to stay sensitive to the possibility of faster BOJ tightening, given that some board members have pointed to global monetary shifts when considering Japan's own policy, he says. The yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds was last down 0.5 bp at 2.990%.