Germany's Schaeuble worried Japan policy adding to liquidity glut

BERLIN Jan 17 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Thursday he was very concerned about the impact on global liquidity of Japanese monetary policy, saying it showed a misunderstanding of central bank policy on the part of Japan's new government.

"I'm pretty worried about the new policies of Japan's newly-elected government. When you think of the surplus of liquidity on global financial markets, it is fuelled further by a wrong understanding of central bank policy," Schaeuble said in a speech to the German Bundestag (lower house of parliament).

The Bank of Japan eased policy five times last year but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office last month, has put pressure on them for even bolder monetary easing.