Expectations have been growing that the BOJ will raise interest rates again in the near future, but economists and investors widely expect the Japanese central bank to hold policy steady at its next meeting on March 18-19, after raising the policy rate to 0.5% in late January.

Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Uchida Shinichi has played down expectations of another interest-rate hike any time soon, saying the conditions are not yet right.

"Underlying inflation is still below 2%," Shinichi Uchida said in a speech to business leaders in central Japan's Shizuoka prefecture. "Tightening monetary policy in this situation would suppress economic activity, and wages would not rise," he said.