A Bank of Japan board member warned of potential dangers if the central bank's already massive stimulus is ramped up, a view suggesting there is no consensus on how quickly it should ease policy again to head off the risk of recession.
Hitoshi Suzuki, a former commercial banker turned BOJ policymaker, said Thursday further declines in borrowing costs will do more harm than good because financial institutions might mitigate the pain by charging fees on households' deposits.
"If bank deposit rates effectively turn negative, it could hurt the economy by cooling consumer sentiment," Suzuki told business leaders in the city of Kumamoto.