The Bank of Japan's Policy Board agreed Tuesday by a majority vote to keep its monetary policy unchanged, the central bank said.It is believed that the decision reflects a view shared by most financial experts that there is little room for another interest rate cut to spur the crippled economy.At a board meting Sept. 9, the BOJ eased its monetary policy for the first time in three years by guiding the unsecured overnight call money rate from slightly below 0.5 percent down to around 0.25 percent on average.The policy board, however, did not touch the official discount rate, which has been maintained at an unprecedented low of 0.5 percent since September 1995.The decision to further slash the key short-term interest rate showed the BOJ finally decided to help revive the economy through monetary measures.During Tuesday's meeting, however, board members are believed to have discussed measures other than rate cuts to provide the money market with ample liquidity, since the BOJ's possible options to help revive the economy have been limited recently.For instance, the central bank's quarterly "tankan" survey released earlier this month showed that business sentiment at every level of Japanese firms worsened over the past three months.The results underlined the need for the government to quickly implement steps to boost domestic demand with an economic stimulus package and restore confidence in the banking sector through financial reforms.Meanwhile, the BOJ's interest rate cut last month set off a series of similar rate cuts by the U.S. and European economies, reflecting the deterioration of these economies.In consideration of the current economic situation both at home and abroad, most analysts agree that the central bank's possible options are not cuts in interest rates but cuts in banks' reserve ratios.
