Bank of Japan holds steady amid market turbulence

Tokyo

AMID renewed waves of financial market turbulence cause by the imminence of Britain's Brexit vote, and uncertainty over the future course of US interest rates, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) opted for stability on Thursday when its Policy Board voted by a large majority to keep monetary policy unchanged for the time being.

But as the yen soared in value against the pound and against other leading currencies - and Tokyo stocks fell further - BOJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda stressed that the Japanese central bank stood ready to take market-stabilising actions if needed.

"If events like a Brexit vote disrupt dollar procurement of Japanese or any other countries' banks, we have ample tools available to deal with it," Mr Kuroda told a …