By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Yoshifumi Takemoto
TOKYO, May 2 (Reuters) - Banking sector problems in the
United States and Europe were caused by liquidity and interest
rates risks, but won't impact on Japan's economy and financial
system for now, Economy Minister Shigeyuki Goto said on Tuesday.
Goto spoke to Reuters in an interview after U.S. regulators
seized First Republic Bank and sold its assets to
JPMorgan Chase & Co , in a deal to resolve the largest
U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis and draw a
line under a lingering banking turmoil.
"What happened to the West involved risks of liquidity and
interest rates. Financial institutions and authorities will need
to respond firmly to liquidity risks," Goto said.
"I don't see the U.S. financial sector facing big problems."
Asked if the U.S. banking woes may cause a delay in any Bank
of Japan efforts to normalise its easing policy down the road,
Goto said he expected the central bank to steer policy flexibly
and appropriately, without elaborating further.
Risk factors warrant attention such as downward any revision
to forecasts for the world economy and financial market
fluctuations as Western countries continue to tighten monetary
policy, he added.
"The BOJ as central bank should tackle monetary policy
operations, but I don't see the current financial situation
impacting Japan's economy and financial sector as a whole.
"I expect the BOJ to guide monetary policy flexibly, meaning
that the central bank should do so appropriately taking economy
and financial markets into account."
On Friday,
the BOJ
kept ultra-low interest rates but announced a plan to
review its past monetary policy moves, laying the groundwork for
new Governor Kazuo Ueda to gradually phase out his predecessor's
massive stimulus programme.
Goto said it would be "difficult" to tap sales tax
revenue as a funding source to pay for additional childcare
spending given the fragile state of the Japanese economy.
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Editing
by Lincoln Feast.)
