Bank of Japan's MP Meeting Minutes, April 04

Many members said recent moves in long-term interest rates and stock prices were generally in line with economic conditions.

Some members said long-term interest rates needed close monitoring as they tended to rise when an economic recovery became clearer.

A few members said that the effects of a rise in U.S. long-term interest rates on Japanese long-term interest rates would require monitoring.

A few members said a downward trend for the dollar was changing as the market shifted its focus to the state of the U.S. economy.

One member said that the BOJ should explain clearly that a slowdown in the pace of monetary base growth did not imply a tightening of monetary policy.

Some members pointed out the risk of nominal long-term interest rates rising before there were clear prospects for overcoming deflation and that it was therefore important for the BOJ to communicate policy to the public appropriately.

One of these members said the BOJ should consider indicating in the near future a rate of inflation that the BOJ considered desirable, as a way of stabilising market expectations about the conduct of monetary policy.

Minutes