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Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda also concurred with
Kishida, saying that setting real wage growth as its policy
target would be difficult.
"I'm not thinking of reviewing it," Kishida told parliament,
when asked by an opposition lawmaker to change the wording in a
joint BOJ-government policy statement agreed upon in 2013.
"The government will prepare policies to prop up wages, working
closely with the central bank," he said.
Under pressure by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the BOJ signed
the 2013 statement with the government that clarified the
central bank's role in achieving its 2% inflation target "at the
earliest date possible."
That statement also required the government to achieve sound
fiscal policy and carry out structural reforms to boost Japan's
growth potential.
Some opposition lawmakers and academics have proposed revising
the statement's wording, or create a new statement, as rising
inflation and a lack of accompanying wage growth hurt
households.
Critics also warn of the rising cost of prolonged monetary
easing, as years of ultra-low interest rates and the BOJ's huge
asset buying have hurt financial institutions' profits and
pushed down liquidity in the Japanese government bond (JGB)
market.
While inflation has exceeded the BOJ's 2% target, Kuroda has
repeatedly stressed the need to maintain the bank's massive
stimulus until wages rise enough to make up for the rising cost
of living.
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara; Editing by Tom
Hogue & Shri Navaratnam)
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