The Bank of Japan maintains the interest rate unchanged and plans to slow down the pace of bond purchases next year.

The Bank of Japan maintains its benchmark interest rate unchanged and decides to gradually reduce bond purchases at a slower pace next year, indicating a cautious stance following increased market volatility. The Bank of Japan keeps the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5% and plans to reduce the monthly bond purchase amount at a pace of 200 billion yen per quarter starting from the next fiscal year, down from the current pace of 400 billion yen per month. This is largely in line with market expectations, as 53 surveyed economists all predicted that the meeting rate would remain unchanged, with two-thirds of them expecting the Bank of Japan to slow down the reduction pace of bond purchases.