JAPAN PRESS: The Bank of Japan’s holdings of Japanese government bonds
rose to the highest level in more than two years in February as it
aggressively purchased sovereign debt to bring liquidity to the market,
The Nikkei reported at the weekend. But if such holdings keep
increasing, the BOJ may rethink its JGB buying policy to ensure that the
amount stays below the balance of bank notes in circulation as required
by law. The central bank held Y51.56 trln in JGBs at the end of Feb, up
3.3% on the month. The recent balance growth is a result of a scheme the
BOJ adopted last March to increase its monthly JGB purchases by Y400 bln
to Y1.8 trln.