Several Bank of Japan board members said the central bank must be vigilant about the risk of inflation accelerating more than expected, minutes of the March policy meeting showed on Monday.
A few of the nine-member board also said they saw some "positive signs" emerging in Japan that suggested the economy was making progress toward achieving the BOJ's 2% target, the minutes of the March 9-10 meeting showed.
The board debated how companies were continuing to hike prices to pass on rising raw material costs, and price increases broadening to services, the minutes showed.