The Bank of Japan decided Wednesday to further ease its ultra-loose monetary policy, despite its past assertions that the move will do little to allay fundamental fears about the economy.
The central bank changed its liquidity target to a range between 10 trillion yen and 15 trillion yen, instead of the current target of "above 6 trillion yen" in effect since September.
To help maintain the new target, the BOJ said it will increase outright purchases of long-term government bonds from 600 billion yen per month to 800 billion yen.