The Bank of Japan has left its key policy rate unchanged for the sixth month running at 0.5%, as expected, in the wake of a global markets shake-out, with the focus now on how long it will delay its next hike.
Just a month ago many investors had expected a quarter percentage point rate hike in August to take Japanese rates to a decade-high 0.75%.
But market turmoil triggered by US credit problems and the Federal Reserve's resulting cut in its discount rate for lending to banks saw almost all give up on an early Japanese move.
Uncertainty about the markets has also prompted doubts about a Japanese rate hike in September.
The Tokyo stock market has risen almost 7% this week, recouping nearly 70% of the losses it booked last week when the Nikkei tumbled 8.9% in its biggest weekly drop in seven years.
