Many in BOJ board saw need for yields to be set by markets, minutes show

TOKYO, May 2 (Reuters) - Many Bank of Japan board members agreed the country's long-term interest rates should be set by markets, with some saying the central bank should at some point slow the pace of bond buying, minutes of their March policy meeting showed on Thursday.

At the March meeting, the BOJ ended eight years of negative interest rates and its bond yield control in a historical shift away from its prolonged radical stimulus programme. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)