By Leika Kihara

TOKYO Bank of Japan board member Asahi Noguchi said on Thursday the central bank must maintain ultra-loose monetary policy to ensure wages, seen as key to driving inflation to the bank's 2% target, continue to increase as a trend.

In a speech, Noguchi said Japan's inflation expectations have yet to be anchored at the central bank's 2% target.

He also warned the BOJ must scrutinise risks to Japan's economic outlook, such as global economic and financial market uncertainties.

"What's most important now is for the BOJ to maintain monetary easing and ensure budding signs of wage growth become a sustained, strong trend," he said in a speech delivered to business leaders in Naha, southern Japan.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Sam Holmes)