TOKYO, April 8 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday there is no cause now for the central bank to ease monetary policy further but reiterated that he stands ready to increase stimulus to the economy if warranted.
"Japan is making steady progress towards 2 percent inflation. I don't think there is a need to take additional measures now," Kuroda told a news conference after the BOJ left policy unchanged, as expected.
"It is not appropriate to speak now about what kind of things might be possible, but there is always room for various options," he said.
The Bank of Japan stuck to its existing monetary stimulus on Tuesday, confident that it did not need further support measures to beat chronic deflation even as a sales tax hike clouds the outlook for the world's third-largest economy.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Stanley White; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Edmund Klamann)