Japan govt and BOJ share views on economy-Econ Min

TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Japanese Economics Minister Hiroko Ota, speaking a day after the Bank of Japan downgraded its economic assessment, said on Friday there was no gap between the government's and the central bank's views on the economy.

While keeping interest rates on hold, the BOJ on Thursday downgraded its economic view -- the first such major downgrade in three years -- saying growth is slowing although it is still on a moderate expansion trend. [ID:nT136686]

"The BOJ makes its own judgment on how to describe the state of the economy," Ota told a news conference.

"But I think we are largely in agreement on how we view the economy," she added, noting that the government's assessment is that the economy is recovering despite some weak spots.

But the process by which healthy corporate profits spill over to households in the form of wages has been weak, although it is still working, she said.

At a separate news conference, Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said the Japanese economy is expected to continue to recover despite the risks posed by problems in the U.S. subprime mortgage sector and higher oil prices.

"I hope the Bank of Japan will follow an appropriate monetary policy to maintain economic growth," Nukaga added.

Japan's economy has been growing moderately in its longest postwar expansionary cycle.

But uncertainty over the U.S. economy, recent tumbles in housing investment at home and worsening consumer sentiment have raised worries about Japan's economic outlook.

The world's second-largest economy grew 0.4 percent in July-September from the previous quarter, or at an annualised 1.5 percent pace. (Reporting by Yoko Nishikawa and Yuzo Saeki; Editing by Mike Miller)