By Megumi Fujikawa
Bank of Japan policy board member Seiji Adachi said Wednesday that the bank should continue its easy policy and needs to be careful about monetary tightening amid concerns about a global economic slowdown.
“History tells us it comes with a great risk to shift monetary policy toward tightening when there is a risk of a storm coming,” Mr. Adachi said. He warned of the possibility of a slowdown in the world economy due to factors including the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate increases.
Mr. Adachi also said the BOJ isn’t targeting foreign-exchange rates. There would be negative effects on the Japanese economy and would increase uncertainties over the bank’s policy outlook if it responded to short-term currency moves each time, he added.
Write to Megumi Fujikawa at megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com