BOJ's Kiuchi sees high hurdles to additional quantitative easing

OTSU, Japan (Reuters) - Bank of Japan board member Takahide Kiuchi said on Wednesday he sees high hurdles to additional quantitative easing because increasing debt purchases would be unlikely to have as much impact as when the central bank first launched the policy last year.

Kiuchi, speaking to reporters after meeting with business leaders in Otsu, western Japan, also said that while it technically may be possible to double the central bank's government debt purchases, such a move would do more harm than good.

Kiuchi is known for his pessimistic outlook on the economy, which places him in the minority on the central bank's nine-member board.

The BOJ last week maintained its pledge of increasing base money, its key monetary policy gauge, at an annual pace of 60-70 trillion yen (355-416 billion pounds).

The BOJ launched the stimulus last April, saying it would lift inflation to 2 percent within around two years via aggressive asset purchases as it sought to end 15 years of deflation.

(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Edmund Klamann)