Japan will not comment on BOJ's absence in joint Powell statement

TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Japan declined on Wednesday to comment on the Bank of Japan's absence from a statement by ?other central banks supporting U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, following ?the Trump administration's threat of criminal indictment.

"The matter ?concerns the BOJ's own judgment, ?so the government ?will refrain from commenting," said Japan's top government spokesman, Chief ?Cabinet Secretary Minoru ?Kihara, in a regular press conference.

The BOJ was not among the major central ?banks that issued the ?joint ?statement backing Powell.

The rare joint statement was signed by the heads of the European Central ?Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, as well as the central bank chiefs of Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Australia, South Korea, Brazil and France.

Asked about the ?importance ?of independence of central banks, Kihara said the government believes that the ultimate responsibility ?for macroeconomic policy lies with the government.

"As stipulated by law that monetary policy is part of overall economic policy, the BOJ is required to maintain close coordination and sufficient communication with the government," he ?said. "That said, the specific methods of monetary policy should be entrusted to the BOJ," he added.

(Reporting by Kentaro ?Sugiyama and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)