TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday the central bank’s decision last week to widen the allowance band around its yield target was “absolutely not a first step” towards an exit from ultra-loose monetary policy.

“Under our yield curve control policy, we will maintain monetary policy accommodative to sustainably and stably achieve our price target accompanied by wage increases,” Kuroda said in a speech delivered to a meeting of Japan’s business lobby Keidanren.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Edmund Klamann)