Japanese firms' inflation expectations held steady in the third quarter, the Tankan summary of "Inflation Outlook of Enterprises" from Bank of Japan showed.

Companies expect annual inflation of 0.9% in the year ahead, unchanged from the previous outlook. Similarly, the three-year ahead inflation is seen at 1%, the same rate as estimated in June. The projection for next five years was retained at 1.1%.

The central bank aims at achieving price stability of 2% since 2013. Although the bank unveiled various quantitative and qualitative easing, inflation still remains well below the target.