Japan's incoming prime minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Friday the country's monetary policy will broadly remain loose, but he signalled that he won't push back against further increases in still near-zero interest rates.

At least two of the Bank of Japan's nine board members saw scope to raise interest rates further, minutes of the central bank's July policy meeting showed on Thursday. But several other members warned of risks to the economy that

Japanese inflation rose slightly in August, with prices up 2.8 percent year-on-year, official data showed Friday, hours before the Bank of Japan was widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.

Bank of Japan policymakers were divided on how quickly the central bank should raise interest rates further, minutes of the bank's July meeting showed, highlighting uncertainty on the timing of the next increase in borrowing costs.