Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki urged the Bank of Japan to make a decision about the timing on when it will exit its super-loose credit policy, saying it should be based on the overall economic situation and not solely on economic data, Kyodo News Service reported. Tanigaki said the Japanese economy is recovering, but mild deflation persists. "We are still in a situation where the government and the BoJ should cooperate in stemming deflation," the news agency quoted Tanigaki as saying. Tanigaki was asked to comment about remarks made yesterday by central bank governor Toshihiko Fukui. Fukui told the upper house financial committee that the central bank is keen on abandoning its ultra-easy credit policy immediately after specified criteria are all met. The crucial condition that the central bank has identified is that year-on-year changes in nationwide core consumer prices have stabilised above zero pct. Kyodo News quoted Tanigaki as saying that he will "closely monitor" currency movements, citing sharp exchange rate movements in apparent response to Fukui's plans for a policy shift.