Bank of Japan board members discussed the need to stay cautious at a policy meeting last week, where the bank ended its massive easing program with Japan’s first interest rate increase since 2007, according to a summary of opinions from the gathering.

"The bank would need to emphasize its cautious stance in the case of terminating the negative interest rate policy,” one member noted, according to the summary released Thursday. "Japan’s economy is not in a state where rapid policy interest rate hikes are necessary.”

The summary indicates Gov. Kazuo Ueda and his fellow board members are in favor of taking a slow approach to rate hikes even after the board embarked on the policy normalization process. That stance is likely to keep weighing on the yen. Government officials ramped up warnings against speculative trading in currencies after the yen sank Wednesday to a 34-year low.

"It is important to clearly communicate through the use of various methods that the changes in the monetary policy framework proposed at this monetary policy meeting will not be a regime shift toward monetary tightening,” one member noted.

Speaking in parliament Wednesday, Ueda reiterated that financial conditions are expected to stay accommodative given the BOJ’s inflation outlook.

Japan’s economy is expected to eke out growth this quarter, although some economists forecast a contraction after consumer spending has fallen for three straight quarters. Weak spending is likely a key reason that board members believe a careful approach to policy deliberations is warranted.

One member, likely Naoki Tamura, a leading hawk, said during last month’s meeting that it would be appropriate for the bank to mark the starting line of the normalization process, proceeding deliberately and steadily. Ueda said last week that he saw a risk the bank would need a series of rapid rate increases if authorities waited too long to end the negative rate.

A representative of the finance ministry who attended the board meeting signaled his desire for monetary policy to stay easy, citing weakness in consumer spending and risks from overseas economies.

"The government considers that the proposals made at this monetary policy meeting reflect the Bank’s intention to keep aiming to achieve the price stability target of 2% in a sustainable and stable manner,” the finance ministry representative said.

A factor that might complicate the BOJ’s task is the weak yen. Some 54% of BOJ watchers see a chance of the bank being forced to raise rates in order to put a floor under the yen, according to a Bloomberg survey last week.