TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday it was theoretically possible for the central bank to cut interest rates to around minus 0.5 percent.
Speaking in parliament, Kuroda said he could not say now which policy tools the BOJ would use in case it decided to expand monetary stimulus again, saying that would depend on economic conditions at the time.
"Of course, there's a possibility that we will decide to cut interest rates further," Kuroda said. "Theoretically, there is room to do so," he said, when asked by an opposition lawmaker whether the BOJ could cut rates to around minus 0.5 percent.
The BOJ added a negative interest rate policy to its massive asset-buying programme in January and began charging a 0.1 percent interest on a portion of excess reserves financial institutions park with the central bank.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
