The Bank of Japan's nine-member board was scheduled to begin its two-day policy meeting at 2 p.m. JST on Wednesday, Dec. 18 (0500 GMT/midnight EST the same day). On the first day, board members compare notes on the economic and financial conditions in Japan and overseas for about two hours. They discuss the conduct of monetary policy on the second day from 9 a.m. JST (0000 GMT Dec. 19, which is 7 p.m. EST Dec. 18) for over two hours. The bank is expected to announce the results of the meeting sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. JST on Thursday, Dec. 19 (0230 and 0400 GMT the same day/9:30 p.m. and 11:00 EST on Wednesday, Dec. 18).

The previous two-day meeting ended at 11:41 a.m. JST, which was 0241 GMT and 9:41 p.m. EST on Thursday, Oct. 31, and the policy statement and quarterly Outlook Report were released at 11:48 a.m. JST (0248 GMT/9:48 p.m. EST).

Governor Kazuo Ueda is scheduled to hold a post-meeting news conference for about an hour from 1530 JST on Thursday, Dec. 19 (from 0630 GMT/0130 EST until 0730 GMT/0230 EST the same day).

The Bank of Japan’s nine-member policy board holds eight two-day Monetary Policy Meetings a year, in January, March, April, June, July, September, October and December. At each meeting, the board votes on the proposals on the bank’s monetary policy stance and the basic guideline on how to achieve the policy target submitted by the chair of the board, who is the bank governor. The board also votes on any proposals from other members. The first day of the meeting starts at 1400 JST and ends around 1600 JST. On the second day, the meeting begins at 0900 JST but no end time is set. It usually lasts for two and a half to three hours and can go on for a few more hours.

Markets can move going into each meeting on expectations for a shift in the bank’s policy stance or tweaking of policy tools. If the meeting lasts longer than usual, speculation for a possible change in policy may arise in the markets.