Japan Fujii: BOJ should monitor corporate funding

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TOKYO Oct 6 (Reuters) - Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said on Tuesday he expected the Bank of Japan to carefully consider the economic outlook when examining whether to end its purchases of corporate debt as planned in December.

"I firmly believe that (BOJ Governor Masaaki) Shirakwa will not do things that run counter to economic conditions," Fujii told reporters at a post-cabinet media conference.

He described the Japanese economy as unstable and said the BOJ was at the stage where it should appropriately monitor the situation for corporate funding.

The Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday that the BOJ was considering ending its outright purchases of commercial paper and corporate bonds at the end of this year as credit markets have begun to function more smoothly. [ID:nTKG006517] (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto)