The Bank of Japan decided on April 26 to keep the current interest rates unchanged at its monetary policy meeting.

Last month the central bank decided to raise interest rates for the first time in 17 years.

After the latest meeting, the BOJ announced that its board members unanimously decided to leave the current policy interest rates unchanged.

The bank also maintained its previous policy regarding purchases of long-term government bonds, which had been attracting attention from markets amid the historic depreciation of the yen.

Following the BOJ's announcement, the yen depreciated further in the foreign exchange market.

The yen temporarily fell to the 156-yen level against the US dollar, marking its weakest point since May 1990.

With the yen continuing to depreciate further, there’s increasing market apprehension towards potential intervention by the government and the Bank of Japan.

However, Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi merely said they will respond firmly without making any specific remarks.