June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Japan is already out of deflation, Finance Minister Koji Omi said, adding it's his personal view and that the government will make its own judgment on the issue.

``I have repeatedly said that the Japanese economy isn't in the state of so-called deflation since I assumed my current post'' in September last year, Omi said at a press conference today in Tokyo.

He also said that Japan's overall economic growth is solid and that policy makers must assume that the country's interest rates will rise over the mid-to-long term.

Omi said it wasn't appropriate for him to comment on the specifics of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy.

The central bank will probably keep the overnight lending rate at 0.5 percent at a two-day meeting ending on June 15, according to the median estimate of all 26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mayumi Otsuma in Tokyo at motsuma@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 11, 2007 20:54 EDT