(FT) -- The Bank of Japan has set a course for "quantitative easing" in a bid to shore up the nation's faltering economic recovery.
The central bank on Tuesday said it was considering creating a Y5,000 billion ($59.7 billion) program to buy assets to increase liquidity in the financial system, as part of a "comprehensive monetary easing policy".
In a surprise move, the BoJ also lowered its key interest rate to nearly zero for the first time in four years. The bank lowered its target overnight call rate to between 0 and 0.1 percent, from the present level of 0.1 percent.
In recent months, the central bank has come under criticism from the government and many economists that it was responding too timidly to weak demand and falling prices.
In a statement, the bank said it would "maintain the virtually zero interest rate policy until it judges...that price stability is in sight".
The asset-buying program would be similar to "quantitative easing" policies adopted by central banks in the U.S. and Europe.
The Bank of Japan said it would look at buying government and corporate bonds, commercial paper, exchange-traded funds and real estate investment trusts.
Japan's previous experiment with quantitative easing, from 2001 to 2006, involved injecting commercial banks with excess cash.
CNN
