Tokyo, Japan (BBN)-The Bank of Japan has made changes to its stimulus programme, in its latest attempt to spur economic growth.
The central bank of Japan has abandoned its base money target, and replaced it with a "yield curve control" system.
Under this plan, the BoJ will buy long-term government bonds to keep the 10-year bond yields around current levels of zero percent.
The move is seen as positive for life insurance companies and other institutional investors.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 share index rose after the announcement.
The Japanese yen fell against the US dollar to around the 102 level, having stood at about 101.50 before the central bank's announcement.
The BoJ said it would continue to purchase assets such as government bonds, at the rate of around 80tn Japanese yen ($787bn; £605bn) a year.
The Bank of Japan kept its benchmark rate on hold at -0.1%.
It introduced negative interest rates in January this year, hoping that commercial banks will use their reserves to lend to businesses, in an attempt to counter the country's economic stagnation.
BBN/AI/ANS