The Finance Ministry will probably oppose raising interest rates during the Bank of Japan's Policy Board meeting Friday, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Wednesday.

"I think we are going to say that now is not the right time (to raise rates) if anything, though it is not certain yet," Miyazawa told a regular news conference.

Under the BOJ Law, representatives from the ministry and the Economic Planning Agency are allowed to attend Policy Board meetings and state opinions, albeit without voting rights.

The Finance Ministry opposed raising rates at the previous two BOJ Policy Board meetings.

Miyazawa also said that the ministry may request postponement of a vote over ending the policy until the next meeting.

"It all depends on developments (at Friday's meeting). We have no plans yet. That's all I can say now," he said.

Government representatives are permitted to request postponement of voting, but the decision to do so belongs to the nine-member Policy Board, according to the BOJ Law.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Wednesday also pressed the BOJ to maintain its easy monetary policy, saying Japan's economy has not yet recovered.

"It's a crucial time to make all efforts to implement policies centering on economic recovery, so I hope they (the BOJ) will pay due attention," Mori told a press conference in Nagasaki after a ceremony to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the atomic bombing there.

Under the "zero-interest-rate" policy, the BOJ has guided its target rate for the key unsecured overnight call money rate close to zero since February 1999.

While BOJ Gov. Masaru Hayami has said economic conditions warrant an end to the policy, many government officials have said it is too early to lift the ultraeasy monetary stance.

Rate-drop warning

A group of Diet members and private-sector economists issued warnings Wednesday against the possible lifting of the Bank of Japan's "zero-interest-rate" policy.

The group said it would be premature to take such action because the economy has not yet recovered.

The group, including Kozo Yamamoto and Yoshimi Watanabe of the Liberal Democratic Party, released the statement ahead of the central bank's pivotal policy board meeting Friday.

In the meeting, the bank is expected to decide on whether to lift its 16-month-old ultraeasy monetary policy, which has effectively allowed private banks to raise short-term funds for free.

"The economy is at a very delicate stage and not necessarily on a full-fledged recovery track, as Prime Minister (Yoshiro) Mori has pointed out," Yamamoto told a news conference. "To abandon the 'zero-rate' policy at this point would do enormous harm."

The lawmakers cited a recent downturn in the stock market as well as a continuing fall in real estate values as worrying factors supporting their opposition.

The latest pressure comes after a series of remarks made by high-ranking BOJ officials, notably Gov. Masaru Hayami, hinted that an end to the policy is imminent.

The bank has said that the policy, initiated in February 1999 as an emergency measure to deal with a spate of bankruptcies of financial institutions, would be lifted when "the dissipation of deflationary concerns is in sight."

In his Diet appearances earlier this week, Hayami said that such a stage has been reached. But the remark immediately drew opposition from lawmakers and other government officials who fear a rate hike now would further endanger many of the nation's heavily indebted corporations.

Assessment gap denied

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on Wednesday downplayed the void between the central bank and the government on the condition of the economy.

Speaking at an Upper House committee meeting, Hayami acknowledged that the BOJ's economic assessment is somewhat brighter than that of the government.

But he added he sees no big gap in how the BOJ and the government are assessing economic conditions.

Hayami's remarks came a day after key government officials applied heavy political pressure to have the ongoing "zero-interest-rate" policy preserved at the BOJ's policymaking meeting Friday.

On Wednesday, Hayami also said he believes there is no major change in the economy's recovery trend despite the collapse of major department store operator Sogo Co., repeating his readiness to end the BOJ's rate policy.

Sogo filed for court-administered bankruptcy procedures in mid-July.