BOJ buys record 23 tril. yen bonds in Jan. to curb yield rise

The Bank of Japan bought 23.69 trillion yen ($182 billion) worth of Japanese government bonds in January, a monthly record, after scrambling to defend its newly set yield ceiling on 10-year debt and curb market speculation of monetary tightening, the central bank’s data showed Wednesday.

The monthly purchase amount exceeded the previous record of 16.20 trillion yen in June last year as the BOJ tried to counter increased bond sales in the market caused by its yield control policy.

In December, the BOJ surprised financial markets by widening the trading range for 10-year bond yields, prompting t...