Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka, commenting on increasing calls by members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for interest rates to be boosted, reiterated his support for the Bank of Japan's current easy monetary policy.

"It is still necessary to stabilize the recovery trend of the economy, and in this sense, I support the BOJ chief's stance," he said. The central bank has held the official discount rate at a record-low 0.5 percent since September 1995, and BOJ Gov. Yasuo Matsushita has repeatedly said the central bank will continue to give priority to monetary policy to support economic recovery.