Japan’s central bank, which is responsible for a
variety of monetary policy functions. Its mission is to pursue price stability.
It also is responsible for maintaining an electronic settlement system to
transfer treasury funds, receiving tax payments, paying public works
expenditures, and handling public pension accounts. The BOJ provides accounting
services for government agencies, issues banknotes (called Bank of Japan notes), and issues
securities for the government. The BOJ also carries out intervention policies
in the foreign exchange market for the Ministry of Finance.