BOJ Policymaker Sought to Raise Rates Gradually: Minutes

Tokyo, March 25 (Jiji Press)--A Bank of Japan policymaker in January sought to raise interest rates gradually to address risks of higher prices, minutes of the central bank's monetary policy meeting released on Tuesday showed.

The policymaker said that "risks to prices had become more skewed to the upside, and it was therefore appropriate for the bank to adjust the degree of monetary accommodation in a timely and gradual manner," according to the minutes of the Jan. 23-24 meeting.

A policymaker told the meeting that "it would be necessary for the bank to adjust the degree of monetary accommodation from the viewpoint of avoiding the yen's depreciation and the overheating of financial activities, both of which appeared to be due to excessively high expectations of continued monetary easing," according to the minutes.

At the meeting, BOJ policymakers voted to raise their short-term interest rate target to 0.5 pct from 0.25 pct.

The minutes quoted a policymaker as saying "the cycle between wages and prices through the pass-through of wage hikes to prices was expected to become full-fledged."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]