The Bank of Japan announced Friday its Policy Board unanimously decided to leave unchanged its ultra-easy monetary policy, including the 0.5 percent official discount rate.
The announcement followed the bank's Monetary Policy Meeting, which closed at around 1 p.m. after four hours of discussion. All six Policy Board members, including BOJ Gov. Yasuo Matsushita, were present, along with some central bank officials, a press officer said.
A summary of the meeting -- including a synopsis of matters discussed and who supported or opposed a policy change -- will be released March 18. The next meeting is scheduled for March 26.
Under new transparency rules launched last month, the BOJ must, in principle, hold a policy-setting meeting twice monthly on or around the 10th and 25th of each month. In the past, the Policy Board met twice a week and held other meetings on irregular, unannounced dates.