The Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Kazuo announced at a press conference on September 19 following a monetary policy meeting that the benchmark interest rate will remain unchanged at 0.5 percent, explaining that the impact of US tariffs is highly uncertain and may reveal itself over time.

S/ Governor Ueda Kazuo, Bank of Japan/ We will carefully review upcoming data and information from hearings and continue to assess economic and price conditions.

The bank also decided to sell exchange-traded funds that it previously purchased and held as part of its monetary easing measures to overcome deflation.

The move is aimed at policy normalization.

Ueda explained that it would take more than 100 years to complete the sales at the current pace in an effort to avoid disrupting the market as much as possible.

S/ Governor Ueda Kazuo, Bank of Japan/ We will not be here 100 years from now, but we intend to sell over a period of more than 100 years.

Following the announcement, the Nikkei Stock Average plunged in the afternoon of the 19th over potential market instability and fluctuated by over 1,300 points in a single day.

One market participant said the bank’s decision to sell ETFs was a surprise while another said that they should be sold over a shorter timeframe.