Japan's monetary base grew 1.0 percent in December from a year earlier, continuing its expansion for a 59th consecutive month, the Bank of Japan said Thursday.
The average daily balance of the monetary base -- cash in circulation plus current-account deposits held at the central bank by financial institutions and Japan Post -- rose to 113.047 trillion yen in the reporting month, the BOJ said.
The monetary base has continued to grow because of the central bank's quantitative easing policy, which was adopted more than 4 1/2 years ago to pull the economy out of deflation.