The Bank of Japan raised its assessment of the Japanese economy for the sixth straight month, noting a "pick-up" in exports and industrial production and ongoing "resilience" in private consumption.
As a result, the central bank's monetary policy board kept its main settings on hold, saying it would continue buying enough assets to expand Japan's monetary base at an annual pace of between Y60tn ($612bn) to Y70tn, to help achieve an inflation target of 2 per cent.
