BoJ should refrain from easing

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan should refrain from expanding monetary stimulus, including at this month´s policy meeting, as borrowing costs are already very low and the economy is in fairly good shape, former BOJ board member Sayuri Shirai said on Monday.

Shirai said the central bank´s next step should be to taper its massive asset-buying programme, accompanied by a deepening of negative interest rates to moderate rises in bond yields.

On recent yen gains, Shirai said the abrupt way in which the currency had risen may temporary hurt corporate profits, but she added that dollar/yen was still within the 100-110 zone deemed comfortable for many companies.

"If the yen appreciates sharply further, that could be problematic.  But that´s not something that can be addressed with monetary policy," she told Reuters in an interview.