TOKYO Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:12pm EDT

Government officials attending the Bank of Japan's February meeting dropped their calls to hit its inflation target "at the earliest date possible," signaling to the central bank that it shouldn't rush in accelerating inflation.

BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has stuck to his view the central bank will to meet its 2 percent inflation target around the year beginning in April, even if it meant expanding an already massive stimulus program further.

But the government is becoming worried that further easing could send the yen to damagingly low levels and hurt household spending by raising the cost of living, undermining its attempts to re-energize the economy.

At the BOJ's policy meeting in February, two government representatives - one from the Finance Ministry and another from the Cabinet Office - both said they hoped the central bank would hit its inflation target "taking into account economic and price developments," minutes of the meeting showed on Friday.

Up till January, the Finance Ministry representative had said the government hoped the target would be met "at the earliest date possible," identical to the language the BOJ usually uses.

The change in tone underlines a growing gap between the BOJ's persistence in meeting its self-imposed deadline for hitting its price goal, and the government's more relaxed approach over the timeframe.

At the February meeting, many BOJ board members maintained their view that Japan will see inflation accelerate to its target in the coming fiscal year, the minutes showed.

The BOJ policymakers also debated the effect that the bank's massive asset purchases was having on the bond market, with a few of them warning that a rise in volatility might be a sign the market's function was deteriorating.

"A few members said the feasibility of continuing the BOJ's government bond purchases into the future warranted attention," the minutes showed.

The February meeting came in the middle of a month-long rout in Japanese government bonds that caused the 10-year yield to more than double from a record low of 0.195 percent.

The sell-off was triggered partly by a global wave of financial market volatility after the Swiss National Bank abandoned its currency cap, but it reminded traders that Japanese government bonds are not a one-way bet.

The BOJ has kept monetary policy steady, including at the February meeting, since expanding its massive stimulus in October to prevent slumping oil prices and a subsequent slowdown in inflation from delaying an end to deflation.

Two government representatives attend the BOJ's rate reviews. They cannot vote but can convey the government's view on monetary policy.