The Bank of Japan (BoJ) released its monetary policy meeting minutes of the April 7-8. The central bank voted 8-1 to keep its monetary policy unchanged. The BoJ board member, Takahide Kiuchi, said the central bank should cut its asset purchases to 45 trillion yen annually. He noted that the aggressive easing measures could destabilize the bond market or could cause bubbles.

Some board members said that private consumption remained weak despite improvements in employment.

Some board members pointed out that annual consumer price inflation might turn negative in coming months depending on energy prices.