Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa urged caution Monday about downside risks to the economy, including ongoing financial market turbulence and increasing energy costs.
"We are in the stage where we need to pay attention to the downside risks to the economy," Shirakawa said in a speech at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo. "It is not appropriate to have a specific policy direction beforehand as uncertainty about the economic outlook is high."
In March, core consumer prices including energy and food prices rose 1.2 percent from a year earlier, the fastest pace in a decade, pushed upwards by oil and food.