TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady on Friday but stressed anew its readiness to continue pushing up borrowing costs to forestall mounting inflation risks.
At a two-day meeting that ended on Friday, the central bank decided to maintain its short-term policy target at 1% by an 8-1 vote. Board member Hajime Takata dissented to the decision, instead calling for a 1.25% hike.
Governor Kazuo Ueda will hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT) to explain the policy decision.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara, Makiko Yamazaki, Kantaro Komiya and Satoshi Sugiyama, Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)