Bank of Japan Policy Board members discussed last month the potential need to expand a ¥1 trillion loan program to help companies damaged by the March 11 disaster, a record of their meeting showed.

Many members said "it was important for the bank to pay attention to developments in demand for funds for rebuilding and, if necessary, examine new measures to support rebuilding efforts," read the minutes of the April 28 meeting, which were released Wednesday in Tokyo.

At the meeting, Deputy Gov. Kiyohiko Nishimura proposed increased asset purchases and another, unnamed member saw the need for further monetary stimulus, the minutes showed. The board rejected Nishimura's plan, and he dropped his proposal at the next meeting. Wednesday's minutes suggest the BOJ may take further action to support the quake-hit economy in months ahead.

"The BOJ won't hesitate to boost support for quake-rebuilding and expand the ¥1 trillion quake-aid loan program if demand for funds rise," said Hiroaki Muto, a senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. "Calls for more monetary easing will probably spread within the board as time passes."

The bank last month unveiled the one-year loan program for banks, aimed at getting funds to companies hit by the quake and tsunami. The March 11 disaster left about 24,000 people dead or missing, and the government estimated that damages could be as high as ¥25 trillion.

The BOJ injected record amounts of cash into the money market after the quake, and doubled to ¥10 trillion a fund that buys assets including corporate debt to real estate investment trusts.