Japan's Suga signals readiness to prod BOJ to ease more

FILE PHOTO: Yoshihide Suga, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary and ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker, speaks during a news conference to announce his candidacy for the party's leadership election, in Tokyo, Japan September 2, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday voiced his readiness to have the central bank take additional monetary easing steps to protect jobs, if he were to become prime minister.

He also said there were "too many regional banks" in Japan, suggesting that he would prod them to consolidate if were to win a ruling party leadership race on Sept. 14, which would almost certainly result in him becoming prime minister.