The Bank of Japan said Tuesday it will sell short-term financing bills Friday to siphon funds from the money market, the first such operation in four years and 10 months.

The BOJ is taking the action because the money market has become overheated by massive money inflows from banks on fading concerns over a financial system crisis, market sources said.

The yield on the latest three-month FB issue has remained at an unusually low level of zero, prompting the central bank to sell 300 billion yen in FBs of the No. 304 issue to allow some rise in the yield, the sources said.