The Bank of Japan again kept the interest rate at a negative level-minus 0.1%, the financial regulator said in a statement following the January meeting.

The decision coincided with analysts ' expectations. Seven members of the Bank of Japan supported maintaining a negative interest rate, and two opposed it. The Bank of Japan introduced a negative interest rate of minus 0.1% in January 2016.

At the same time, the Bank confirmed its decision to continue targeting the yield of 10-year government bonds at a level close to 0%. The yield of securities may increase or decrease depending on economic activity and the price level. The monetary base will continue to increase by about 80 trillion yen a year, the Bank of Japan said in a release.

The Bank said it plans to maintain a "soft" monetary policy aimed at achieving 2% inflation for as long as necessary.

At the same time, the Bank of Japan raised its forecasts for GDP growth. According to the new estimate, in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which ends in March 2020, the Japanese economy will grow by 0.8%, which is higher than the October forecast by 0.2 percentage points. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, growth is expected to accelerate to 0.9% instead of 0.7% as previously expected. Inflation in Japan is forecast to be 0.4% in the current fiscal year, compared to the 0.5% expected in October.