The Bank of Japan (BoJ) released its interest rate decision on Friday. The BoJ kept its monetary policy unchanged (interest rate: 0.00-0.10%, monetary base target: 275 trillion yen). The central bank will expand its monetary base at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen. This decision was expected by analysts. But some analysts speculated that the central could add further stimulus measures.

The BoJ board members voted 8-1 to keep monetary policy unchanged. The BoJ board member, Takahide Kiuchi, said again that the central bank should cut its asset purchases to 45 trillion yen annually.

BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on October 16 that the consumer price inflation trend was improving, adding that the consumer price inflation excluding fresh food and energy increased more than 1%. He noted that "domestic demand is on track to strengthen".