BOJ nominees end first parliamentary hearing

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TOKYO, March 11 (Reuters) - A panel of Japan's lower house completed hearings of the nominees to take over the leadership of the Bank of Japan on Tuesday without any substantive discussion on interest rates, a lawmaker who attended the session said.

Asked if there was any talk of rate cuts, the senior ruling party lawmaker told reporters: "Not at all ... We didn't discuss interest rates."

The almost three-hour session involved a statement by each candidate followed by questions from lawmakers.

A similar hearing will be held in the upper house starting at 2 p.m. (0500 GMT).

The government has nominated Toshiro Muto, currently deputy BOJ governor, to succeed Toshihiko Fukui, whose term expires on March 19. It nominated Masaaki Shirakawa, a former BOJ official, and academic Takatoshi Ito, who is a member of the government's top economic council, as deputy governors. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto)