A Bank of Japan Policy Board member flagged rising risks Wednesday to the nation's growth as the yen climbed in the aftermath of the U.S. Federal Reserve signaling willingness to consider more monetary stimulus.
"We're entering a situation where we need to pay more attention to downside risks," Ryuzo Miyao said in a speech in Tokushima Prefecture.
The remarks came a week after Japan sold yen for the first time in six years in response to a strengthening currency that threatened to derail the economy's recovery. The BOJ may be pressured to consider further liquidity injections after the government's decision to intervene and the Fed's signal it may ease more, said economist Yoshimasa Maruyama.
"The chance of additional easing by the BOJ is definitely mounting as Miyao flagged concern about the yen's effect and Gov. Shirakawa underlined the cooperation with the government," said Maruyama, a senior economist at Itochu Corp. "It's possible for the BOJ to act as early as next month, at either the first or the second meeting."
The Policy Board is scheduled to meet twice next month, for a two-day conference Oct. 4 and 5 and on Oct. 28.
"There is a growing risk that the U.S. economy may fall into a period of low growth that could be a bit protracted," Miyao said. "From a longer perspective, for instance, one or two or three years, there's a risk that the level of growth could be lower than expected," he said at a later news conference.
Shirakawa also said in a newspaper interview that the currency-market intervention last week was appropriate.