The Bank of Japan must raise interest rates if persistent increases in food costs lead to broad-based inflation, Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday, signalling the bank's resolve to continue weaning the economy off monetary support. Ueda said Japan's recent "very high" inflation was driven mostly by temporary factors such as rising import costs and food prices, which are likely to dissipate and thus not a reason to tighten monetary policy. But there is a chance that sustained rises in food costs could push up prices for other goods and services, he said.