Members of the Bank of Japan Policy Board agreed during a meeting on Aug. 7 and 8 that long-term interest rates in Japan had stopped rising, according to minutes released Thursday.
"Members generally agreed that long-term interest rates in Japan had stopped rising, but they had not yet become stable," the minutes say.
One Policy Board member stated that the long-term interest rate level was consistent with the natural rate of interest and the expected rate of inflation in Japan, the minutes show.
Against this backdrop, the BOJ decided to leave its money market operation outline intact, keeping its target for the outstanding balance of current accounts held by private financial institutions at the BOJ at 30 trillion yen.
" Members agreed that it was appropriate to maintain the current target range of around 27 trillion yen to 30 trillion yen for the outstanding balance of current accounts at the bank," the minutes say.
One member said it was appropriate for the central bank to conduct money market operations flexibly within the target range. The member added, however, that the bank should not conduct market operations that might be perceived by market participants as a tightening of monetary policy, according to the minutes.