The Bank of Japan now owns about 32.25 trillion Yen ($302 billion) or 85% of all Japanese Index-Linked Exchange-Traded Funds

The Bank of Japan has set out a guidance (or target) to buy 6 trillion Yen ($56 billion) worth of exchange traded funds (ETFs) a year, a measure designed to funnel money into the economy. It also has a policy to increase its ETF purchases if market volatility begins to hurt business confidence (as COVID-19 has)

Massive holding, biggest shareholder

The Bank of Japan now holds almost 32.25 trillion Yen ($302 billion) or 85% of all Japanese Index-Linked Exchange-Traded Funds and is indirectly the largest shareholder in many large Japanese companies.

Bank of Japan ETF holdings until June 2020 chart

 

Share lender, not just a central bank

The Bank of Japan is to begin lending shares in exchange-traded funds to restore some of the liquidity it has drained from the market given its ETFs buying spree policy. When you hold 85% of the market, you make the rules …

 

Negative interest rate and zero yield

As part of policy, the current benchmark interest rate is -0.1% and 10-year government bond yield target is around 0%.

 

How big is the Bank of Japan balance sheet?

The balance sheet of the Bank of Japan stands at 638.6 trillion Yen ($5.98 trillion) as of May 31, 2020.

Bank of Japan Balance sheet until May 2020

 

Balance Sheet per capita

The Bank of Japan balance sheet per person or per capita stands at 5.15 million Yen (or $47,968).

Related: Japan has both the highest gross and net debt as percentage of GDP

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