The Bank of Japan's nine-member board was scheduled to begin its two-day policy meeting at 1400 JST on Thursday, Dec. 18 (0500 GMT/0000 EST the same day). On the first day, board members will compare notes on the economic and financial conditions in Japan and overseas for about two hours. They will discuss the conduct of monetary policy on the second day from 0900 JST (0000 GMT Dec. 19, which is 1900 EST Dec. 18) for over two hours. The bank is expected to announce the results of the meeting sometime between 1120 and 1300 JST on Friday, Dec. 19 (0220 and 0400 GMT the same day/2120 and 2300 EST Thursday, Dec. 18).

The previous two-day meeting on Oct. 29-30 ended at 1208 JST (0308 GMT/2308 EDT) and the BOJ released the statement and the quarterly Outlook Report at 1215 JST (0315 GMT/2315 EDT).

Governor Kazuo Ueda is expected to hold a post-meeting news conference for about an hour from 1530 JST on Friday, 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.