The Bank of Japan needs to continue its monetary easing policy, central bank Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Friday, defending the accommodative stance amid growing concern that it has triggered rapid depreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar.

The BOJ's position is in stark contrast with the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, among other financial authorities in developed countries that are moving toward a tightening of monetary policy following emergency steps to address the economic downturn amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"The economic conditions of Japan and the United States differ greatly and the BOJ needs to continue its current monetary easing policy," Kuroda said in a speech at Columbia University in New York.