Bank of Japan increases asset purchase programme

Analysts said the move would stop the yen from rising, which should help Japan's exporters

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has extended its asset purchasing programme by 10 trillion yen ($126bn; £78bn), following similar moves by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

The move, aimed at boosting the economy, increases the overall size of the stimulus programme to 80tn yen.

Although the increase had been anticipated by some analysts, many were surprised by the size of it.

Finance Minister Jun Azumi said the BoJ "took more action than we anticipated".

Under the asset purchasing programme the central bank buys bonds in order to keep the long-term cost of borrowing down.

The BoJ also left interest rates unchanged at between zero and 0.1%.............................."This is a positive for the economy in the sense that it prevents the yen from rising," said Hiroaku Muto, senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management...........................