The Bank of Japan has decided to conduct its yield curve control policy with greater flexibility.

Policymakers at the BOJ have wrapped up their two-day meeting on Friday.

They say the Bank will continue to allow yields of 10-year Japanese government bonds to fluctuate in a range of around plus and minus 0.5 percentage points from the target level, while it will conduct yield curve control with greater flexibility. The upper and lower bounds of the range will be regarded as references, instead of rigid limits.

The decision comes as the Bank says that sustainable and stable achievement of the price stability target of 2 percent, accompanied by wage increases, has not yet come into sight.

The BOJ added that it needs to patiently continue monetary easing including the yield curve control policy. Policymakers say it is appropriate to enhance the current framework by implementing the yield curve control with greater flexibility.

This is the first modification to the BOJ policy under Ueda Kazuo who has been governor since April.

Meanwhile, the central bank has raised its inflation outlook for the current fiscal year that started in April.
It lifted its expectations of consumer prices excluding fresh food to 2.5 percent from its prior April projection of 1.8 percent.