Japan govt, BOJ to start regular talks in Nov -Nikkei

TOKYO, Oct 29 - The government and the Bank of Japan are looking at holding regular talks about once a month with the first meeting likely to be held in early November, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.

BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa, Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii and National Strategy Minister Naoto Kan will get together to share a common understanding on the economy and financial markets, the Nikkei said.

In the discussions, the government will not go into details about monetary policy to respect the BOJ's independence, the paper said without citing sources.

Senior officials of the BOJ, the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Office hope to reach an agreement this week. They may also agree that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Shirakawa should meet on an irregular basis, the paper said.

Keisuke Tsumura, parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet Office, had said earlier this month that the government was examining the possibility of regular talks with the BOJ.

At present, the only regular government meeting which the BOJ governor attends is a monthly gathering of economic ministers, held to approve the government's monthly economic report.

The BOJ is leaning toward announcing, at a rate review on Friday, an end to its measures aimed at supporting corporate finance when they expire in December.

But it has come under pressure from some cabinet ministers who worry that a quick exit from emergency steps to support corporate funding would hurt the fragile economy, just now emerging from its deepest recession in 60 years.