Bank of Japan keeps policy steady, focus on Kuroda's presser

As widely expected, the BOJ reiterated its pledge to increase base money, or cash and deposits at the central bank, at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($665 billion) through purchases of government bonds and risky assets.

"Japan's economy continues to recover moderately although exports and production have been affected by the slowdown in emerging economies," the BOJ said in a statement, keeping its assessment of the economy unchanged from the previous month.

BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. (0130 EDT) to explain the policy decision.

The BOJ has kept monetary policy steady since expanding stimulus in October last year.

($1 = 120.4600 yen)

(Reporting by Leika Kihara, Stanley White, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Chang-Ran Kim)