Japan Holds Rates Steady - NYTimes.com TOKYO - The Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy on Thursday and reiterated that the economy was recovering moderately, in a nod to signs of an increase in exports that is key to sustaining the momentum generated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stimulus policies. As widely expected, the Japanese central bank maintained the monetary framework it put in place in April, which aims to achieve 2 percent inflation in about two years by increasing the supply of money through aggressive asset purchases. "Japan's economy is recovering moderately," the Bank of Japan said in a statement announcing the decision. That assessment was unchanged from the one it made last month. "Exports have generally been picking up," reflecting a moderate recovery in overseas economies, it said. The Japanese economy slowed in the quarter from July through September as exports and household spending moderated, although analysts expect the economy to accelerate this quarter as consumers try to beat an increase in the sales tax next April. Weak exports have been a major concern for Bank of Japan officials, who hope the global economy will pick up in time to make up for the expected downturn in household spending after the tax increase. The central bank is watching global economic conditions and appears to be ready to ease monetary policy again if its inflation goal is threatened. "I don't see a big risk of emerging economies" worsening sharply from current levels," Haruhiko Kuroda, the bank's governor, said at a news conference held to explain the bank's thinking.