TOKYO: The Bank of Japan will consider extending the current September deadline for its pandemic-relief programme if necessary, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said as the country struggles with a spike in COVID-19 infections that is crippling the economy.

Kuroda said the world's third-largest economy remains on a path toward recovery as robust exports and corporate profits offset some of the pandemic's damage to consumption.

But he warned that there was high uncertainty on the pace of vaccine rollouts and other risks.

"For the time being, risks to Japan's economic outlook are skewed to the downside," Kuroda said in a speech delievered at a seminar on Wednesday.

"Taken into account the impact of the pandemic, we will consider extending further" the deadline for the BOJ's measures to ease corporate funding strains caused by the crisis, he said.

The BOJ last year ramped up asset purchases and put in place a loan programme aimed at channeling money to cash-strapped small firms to cushion the blow from the health crisis.

Data on Monday showed Japan's economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter as a slow vaccine rollout and new COVID-19 infections hit spending on items such as dining out and clothes, raising concerns the country will lag others emerging from the pandemic. Capital expenditure also fell unexpectedly and export growth slowed sharply.