The Bank of Japan should continue to raise its key policy rate, BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino said Thursday, citing upside risks to inflation, ahead of a policy meeting next month.

"We should pay greater attention to the upside risk to prices than in the past," Himino said in his remarks delivered in Saitama near Tokyo as financial markets keep close tabs on whether the bank will lift the rate in September after a hike to a 31-year high of 1.0 percent in June.