TOKYO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Japan will experience three years of deflation and the pace of price declines will slow only gradually, the Bank of Japan said in its half-yearly outlook report, effectively pledging to keep interest rates near zero at least until 2011.
"The BOJ will aim to maintain an extremely accommodative financial environment," the central bank said in the report, reitering that it will provide steady support for the economy to get it back to sustainable growth.
The BOJ releases long-term economic and price forecasts in April and October that form a basis for its monetary policy decisions. It reviews the forecasts every January and July.
