Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday it was important to support the economy with accommodative monetary policy for the time being.

"Japan's medium- to long-term inflation expectations, and trend inflation, are still in the process of heading towards 2%," Ueda told parliament.

The likelihood of durably achieving the BOJ's 2% inflation target was high as growth in average real wages is likely to turn positive in near future, he added. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Kim Coghill)