TOKYO: The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept monetary policy steady on Thursday and maintained a cautiously optimistic view on the economy, signaling that no expansion of monetary stimulus was forthcoming in the near future.
In a widely expected move, the BOJ maintained the 0.1 percent interest it charges on a portion of excess reserves that financial institutions park at the central bank.
At the two-day policy meeting that ended on Thursday, it also kept its yield target for 10-year Japanese government bonds around zero percent.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a news conference to explain the policy decision.
After more than three years of huge asset purchases failed to accelerate inflation to its 2 percent target, the BOJ revamped its policy framework last September to one targeting interest rates.