The Bank of Japan Policy Board in February voted 8-1 to boost liquidity in the banking system by increasing the central bank's outright purchases of government bonds, according to minutes released Tuesday.
During the Feb. 28 meeting, the Policy Board decided to increase the BOJ's monthly purchases of outstanding long-term government bonds to 1 trillion yen from 800 billion yen.
The board also decided to provide funds on a flexible basis, regardless of its 10 trillion yen to 15 trillion yen target for the balance of current-account deposits held at the BOJ by commercial banks.