TOKYO—Takeshi Niinami, chief executive of beverage maker Suntory Holdings and the head of a Japanese business lobby, called on the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates, saying it would help boost the Japanese economy’s productivity and competitiveness.

If the Bank of Japan raises interest rates, “the Japanese business community would be ready—which means they should raise interest rates, both long and short,” Niinami said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Monday.