TOKYO, July 21 (Reuters) - Japan's top financial diplomat on Friday suggested the central bank may tweak its approach to monetary stimulus at its next policy meeting, due to "signs of changes" in corporate behaviour on wage growth and price rises.
In rare remarks on monetary policy, Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, said he expects the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to make a judgment on policy by analysing the conditions and outlook for prices at every review.
"Various expectations and speculations are spreading about the possibility of some kind of tweak to monetary policy," he said.
The BOJ, under Governor Kazuo Ueda's predecessor Haruhiko Kuroda, launched an unprecedented round of monetary stimulus in 2013, pledging to inflate the economy to meet a 2% inflation target in two years.
The BOJ is leaning towards keeping its yield control policy unchanged at next week's meeting, five sources familiar with its thinking said, as policymakers prefer to scrutinise more data to ensure wages and inflation keep rising.
Persons:
Masato Kanda, Kanda's, Kanda, Kazuo Ueda's, Haruhiko Kuroda, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Leika Kihara, Satoshi Sugiyama, Andrew Heavens, Miral Fahmy, Sharon Singleton
Organizations:
Bank of Japan, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
TOKYO