BOJ board voted for credibility rather than bonds

The Bank of Japan Policy Board in its Jan. 19 meeting rejected the idea of underwriting government bonds on grounds that it would undermine the credibility of the central bank, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday.

The nine-member board, headed by BOJ Gov. Masaru Hayami, also expressed opposition to calls from outside the bank to step up the bank's outright purchase of outstanding government bonds, the minutes show.

The January meeting preceded a Feb. 12 meeting in which the bank decided to further ease its monetary policy by guiding down the unsecured overnight call money rate -- a key short-term interest rate -- to a historic low of 0.15 percent and even to near zero if necessary.