BOJ adopts long-term interest rates target; sets yield curve control

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Wednesday decided to adopt a target for long-term interest rates in an overhaul of its massive stimulus programme.

The BOJ maintained the 0.1% negative interest rate it applies to some of the excess reserves that financial institutions park with the central bank.

But it abandoned its base money target and instead set a "yield curve control" under which it will buy long-term government bonds to keep 10-year bond yields around current levels of zero percent.

The BOJ said it would continue to buy long-term government bonds at a pace so that the balance of its holdings increases by 80 trillion yen ($781 billion) per year.