UPDATE 1-Italy's Berlusconi backs ECB on interest rates

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ROME, July 5 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi distanced himself from euro zone critics of the European Central Bank on Saturday, saying the ECB was right to hike interest rates again this week to fight record inflation.

Berlusconi, who in the past has often criticised the ECB, was quoted by Italian news agencies as defending the Bank's policy. "Right now, the most important thing is to fight inflation so I think this policy by the ECB, at this moment, is right," Berlusconi told reporters in Tokyo, answering a question about this week's interest rate rise.

Berlusconi was speaking on a brief visit to Tokyo ahead of the Group of Eight summit in Japan.

Politicians from France, Germany, Spain and Portugal have urged the ECB to consider the impact of its rate decisions on faltering euro zone growth.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been particularly critical of the ECB. The central bank on Thursday increased its main interest rate to a seven-year high of 4.25 percent, after euro zone inflation rose to a record 4 percent in June.

Berlusconi's blessing of the ECB was all the more surprising given his past criticism of the central bank and Italy's weak growth.

The Italian economy has lagged behind its euro zone peers for at least a decade and its growth outlook has been deteriorating steadily in recent months amid a raft of negative economic data.

Berlusconi's government last month trimmed this year's growth forecast to 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent -- well below a euro zone average rate seen at around 1.7 percent -- and cut next year's outlook to 0.9 percent from 1.2 percent.