The Bank of Japan said Tuesday that after an almost 4 1/2-year hiatus it will resume buying shares held by banks in an attempt to bolster their balance sheets damaged by plunging stock markets.
"Risks caused by stock price volatility have amounted to a serious problem" to the Japanese financial system, BOJ Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa told reporters after the central bank unveiled the plan to buy shares worth ¥1 trillion held by commercial banks.
The stock purchases would function as a "safety valve" to stabilize the system, he said at a news conference.