TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Bank of Japan policymaker said Wednesday that the central bank should pursue interest rate hikes at a "very moderate" pace, even as it continues to seek a shift away from its decade-long unorthodox monetary easing.

"I personally think there is no need to raise rates rapidly to curb inflation at this point," BOJ Policy Board member Seiji Adachi said in a speech in Kagawa Prefecture. "Rather, I think we should avoid a hasty rate hike."

With the U.S. Federal Reserve recently entering its rate cut cycle the yen could strengthen against the U.S. dollar and slow the pace of price increases of imported products, Adachi said.

The BOJ also needs to pay close attention to whether the current wage growth momentum will continue into next year, he said, adding that economic uncertainties could negatively affect wage negotiations between management and labor unions.

With the central bank pursuing a price stability target of 2 percent accompanied by wage increases, the consumer price index has stayed above that level. The bank ended its negative rate policy in March with its first rate hike in 17 years and raised its policy rate to around 0.25 percent from the range of zero to 0.1 percent in July.

The comments came as Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said earlier this month the current environment is not suitable for another rate hike, in a rare remark seen by some market participants as the government's direct intervention into BOJ policy.

However, Adachi also stressed that "conditions have already been met" for the BOJ to pursue normalizing its monetary policy.

The bank should "avoid drastic policy changes" that raises awareness of the risk that the country sinks into deflation again, he said.

The central bank is scheduled to hold a two-day policy meeting starting from Oct. 30 to decide if its policy rate should be raised from the current 0.25 percent.