TOKYO, April 14 Reuters The Bank of Japan BOJ will give a slightly hawkish tilt to its guidance on the future path of monetary policy by phasing out a pledge to ramp up stimulus if needed, Naomi Muguruma, a veteran analyst wellversed in the bank39;s policy, said on Thursday.

The tweak could come at the central bank39;s policy meeting this month, Muguruma wrote in a research note, having initially expected the tweak to be made in July.

The projection by Muguruma, a prominent BOJ watcher who has closely tracked its policy for years, comes despite reassurances by Governor Haruhiko Kuroda that the BOJ is in no rush to follow in the footsteps of other central banks in withdrawing stimulus.

Under the current guidance, the BOJ says it won39;t hesitate to take additional easing steps, and expects short and longterm policy interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels.

The central bank will likely change the guidance to say it will maintain short and longterm rates at current levels for the time being, Muguruma said.

The tweak could help slow the pace of yen declines by making the BOJ39;s policy outlook appear somewhat less dovish than before, she said.

With the yen sliding to 20year lows against the dollar, there39;s no need to stick to a guidance that eyes a possible deepening of negative interest rates, Muguruma said.

Under a policy dubbed yield curve control, the BOJ pledges to guide shortterm rates at 0.1 and cap the 10year bond yield around 0 to support…