Sanae Takaichi, Japan's minister for economic security and a leading candidate in the ruling Liberal Democratic party's presidential election, said on Saturday that the Bank of Japan should maintain ultra-low interest rates to support the fragile economic recovery. "Frankly, it's too early," she told a news conference gathering nine candidates for the election when asked about the bank's plans to raise interest rates this year. "Interest rates should be kept low," she added. The BoJ abandoned negative interest rates in March and raised short-term rates to 0.25 per cent in July as it believed the economy was on track to achieve its 2 per cent inflation target on a lasting basis.