BOJ wants to maintain accommodative monetary environment, Jiji reports

A senior Bank of Japan official said the central bank wants to maintain an accommodative monetary environment as much as possible, Jiji news agency reported on Thursday.

The central bank's next policy meeting will be a "very important" one, Kazushige Kamiyama, the BOJ's Osaka branch manager, was quoted as saying by Jiji.

Kamiyama, who is currently based in the western Japan city, previously held key posts such as the bank's top economist.

Some market players expect the BOJ to raise interest rates from current near-zero levels as soon as its next policy meeting on July 30-31.

The central bank has been under some political pressure to raise rates. Digital Transformation Minister Taro Kono, speaking on Bloomberg Television on Wednesday, called on the BOJ to increase interest rates to boost the yen, saying the Japanese currency is "too cheap."

Asked about Kono's comment, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the central bank's monetary policy is not aimed at guiding foreign exchange rates but at achieving its price target, adding that specific policy measures are up to the BOJ to decide.

"We expect the Bank of Japan to continue working closely with the government and, with an eye on economic, price and monetary conditions, to conduct its monetary policy appropriately toward achieving 2% price target sustainably and stably," Hayashi told a regular news conference.