Mizuno says BOJ to gradually lift rates

``Things are in line with our scenario'' that prices are rising and the economy is expanding, Mizuno said in an interview with Bloomberg in Tokyo Tuesday. ``I want to emphasize that that means fine adjustments will continue to be made to interest rates.''

``We have been seeing some mixed reports recently with both strong and weak sides,'' said Mizuno, 47, who joined the central bank's policy board in December 2004. ``We don't necessarily interpret data the same way the market does.''

``We plan to conduct policy in an appropriate and unprejudiced way by carefully examining economic data,'' Mizuno said.

``We don't think there's any reason for us to alter our basic assessment on prices given the recent revision,'' Mizuno said. ``There is no change in the trend that the year-on-year change in the consumer price index will increase gradually.''