Bank of Japan's Board said several of its members expressed the belief that the current monetary policy easing should be maintained in order to achieve price stability target in a "sustainable and stable manner," meeting minutes from the central bank's latest policy meeting showed.
The BoJ further noted that past price increases in commodities and raw materials are currently being passed on to consumer prices, acknowledging that an increasing number of factors had contributed to firms raising their selling prices in the first place.
Several members also noted that for consumer inflation to rise again toward the bank's 2% target, it is necessary for "wage developments, firms' growth expectations, and medium- to long-term inflation expectations" to improve and for sticky prices to rise.
