The Bank of Japan Policy Board unanimously agreed Tuesday to maintain the current virtually zero interest rate policy while revealing details of a new lending arrangement in dollars worth the equivalent of ¥1 trillion.

As a result, following the Policy Board's two-day meeting, the BOJ will leave unchanged its credit and asset-purchasing programs totaling ¥65 trillion while keeping its key rates between zero and 0.1 percent.

"We must keep a close watch on a variety of uncertainties" over the global economy, including oil prices and the situation in Europe, BOJ Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said after the meeting.