TOKYO, July 13 - Japanese Economics Minister Heizo Takenaka said on Friday he had asked the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to act flexibly in conducting its current quantitative easing stance.
After attending the BOJ's two-day policy board meeting, Takenaka said the government made no formal proposal to the central bank, which decided by unanimous vote on Friday to keep its ultra-easy monetary policy unchanged.
"The BOJ should maintain a flexible quantitative easing stance as deflationary pressures remain," he told a news conference. Any government request on monetary policy would depend on future economic conditions, he said.
Takenaka said the BOJ and the government basically shared the same view on the economy. The government has been keeping up pressure on the central bank to expand its super-easy quantitative easing policy as it attempts to push forward structural reforms that will put downward pressure on the already ailing economy.