The Bank of Japan's policy-setting panel voted 8-1 to cut its official discount rate to 0.35 percent from 0.5 percent at its Feb. 9 meeting amid concern over the future of the Japanese economy, according to the minutes of the meeting released Friday.

The BOJ Policy Board also voted 6-3 to leave the overnight unsecured call money lending rate unchanged at around 0.25 percent, while voting unanimously to introduce a "Lombard type" lending facility, in which it extends loans to private financial institutions with securities as collateral, according to the minutes.

The minutes show the majority of board members considered a return to the "zero-interest-rate" policy of guiding the overnight call money rate to around zero as they agreed the economy is in a trend of gradual recovery.