The Ministry of Finance will this month lend Y500bn ($5.1bn) of Japan's forex reserves to the Japan Bank for International Co-operation, which will use the funds to help companies meet overseas funding needs ahead of the end of the fiscal year.
Kaoru Yosano, finance minister, said the latest plan to use Japan's reserves, the second largest in the world after China's, was a “contingent and extraordinary step”.
“The [downturn of the] economy is becoming increasingly severe and it is necessary to take all possible measures to help companies get access to funds for their domestic and overseas businesses towards the fiscal year-end on March 31,” he said.