TOKYO: The Bank of Japan held fire on more stimulus Friday as it pointed to a pick-up in the economy, despite flat-lining inflation that has defied a two-year-old monetary easing program.

In a widely expected decision, the central bank said it would stand pat on a record 80 trillion yen ($650 billion) annual asset-buying scheme that is aimed at jacking up prices and kickstarting growth.

The bank also said it would move to improve its communication by issuing more frequent and detailed reports on its outlook for the economy and prices, while cutting the number of policy meetings to eight from the current 14 a year.

Traders are now waiting for a regular news briefing from BoJ chief Haruhiko Kuroda, whose comments last week about the weakness of the yen sparked a short-lived surge in the currency. He later backtracked on those comments.