Bank of Japan officials began a two-day Policy Board meeting Monday amid growing pressure for the central bank to take additional credit-easing measures.
The first day of the meeting saw the benchmark Nikkei average plunge to a new postbubble low of 11,477.56. The fall offered grim material for BOJ policymakers to ponder, along with rising unemployment, slowing production and continued uncertainty in the global high-tech and telecommunications sectors.
With foreign and domestic pundits warning that the nation is headed for recession, attention is turning to the central bank as the economy's sole source of salvation.