NIIGATA, Japan: The Bank of Japan must keep raising real interest rates to "a state of equilibrium", board member Junko Koeda said on Thursday in the wake of renewed yen slides, driven by market expectations that political pressure will keep any rate increases slow. The remarks suggest Koeda, an academic who joined the central bank's board in March, will vote in favour of an interest rate increase if proposed by Governor Kazuo Ueda in the coming months. Markets are closely watching BOJ policy