The Bank of Japan (BOJ), as widely expected, held its key interest rate unchanged at 0.1 percent on Thursday.

The eight-member policy board of the BOJ, which cut the unsecured overnight call rate target to 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent in December, agreed unanimously to hold the rate steady.

Meanwhile, the BOJ downgraded its estimates for the nation's economic growth from the previously forecasted 0.1 percent to minus 1.8 percent in fiscal 2008, which ends in March 2009.

For fiscal 2009, the central bank lowered its estimate for real GDP growth from earlier predicted 0.6 percent expansion to 2.0 percent contraction.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2009)