The Nikkei index rose more than 2 percent in intraday trading and the yen fell sharply to the 131 level against the U.S. dollar from the 128 zone on Wednesday, after the Bank of Japan maintained its ultraeasy monetary policy.
The BOJ made no changes to its ultralow rate policy at its two-day meeting that ended earlier in the day, defying market pressure to do so after the central bank earlier surprised investors by allowing key long-term government bond yields to move in a wider range.
