TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan’s government bond holdings rose 3.4% from a year ago to 486 trillion yen ($4.5 trillion) as of March, roughly 90% the size of the country’s economy, central bank data showed on Wednesday.
The balance of bond holdings, revealed in the BOJ’s earnings report for the financial year that ended in March, underscores the massive scale of its money printing aimed at reflating the economy and achieving its elusive 2% inflation target.
The pace of bond buying is likely to accelerate in the current financial year after the BOJ pledged to buy an unlimited amount of bonds to combat the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by David Goodman)
