The minutes of the Bank of Japan's March 6-7 meeting, published today, reveal dissent among some members of the policy board, who believed policy should be loosened before the new governor took up his post.

The meeting was the last held under the governorship of Masaaki Shirakawa, and ultimately no action was taken. However, various members raised the possibility of changes to the BoJ's policy, including lowering the interest rate on deposits, purchasing bonds with longer maturities, and