At the Monetary Policy Meeting held today, the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan decided upon the following. (1) Yield curve control (an 8-1 majority vote) a) The Bank decided to set the following guideline for market operations for the intermeeting period. The short-term policy interest rate: The Bank will apply a negative interest rate of minus 0.1 percent to the Policy-Rate Balances in current accounts held by financial institutions at the Bank. The long-term interest rate: The Bank will purchase a necessary amount of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) without setting an upper limit so that 10-year JGB yields will ... (full story)

The Bank of Japan on Thursday decided to keep its loose monetary policy intact, despite the weakening of the yen and growing pressure of inflation due to costlier imports. The central bank's nine-member board decided to maintain the overall framework of its monetary policy, guiding 10-year rates to around zero and short-term rates to around minus 0.1%, reiterating its commitment to buying government bonds without a limit. The meeting was held as inflationary pressure grows for commodities and a wide range of other goods, from fuel and food to apparel and appliances. In March, Japan's consumer inflation rose 0.8% from ... (full story)