Japan Asks Central Bank to Buy Commercial Paper, Nikkei Reports

By Kanoko Matsuyama

Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s government is asking its central bank to consider buying commercial paper held by financial institutions, the Nikkei newspaper reported today, without saying where it obtained the information.

The Bank of Japan currently takes commercial paper as collateral when it lends money to banks, and it was unclear if the central bank would make purchases, the Nikkei said.

The Japanese government decided to buy commercial paper directly through the Development Bank of Japan in the second stimulus package, the Nikkei said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kanoko Matsuyama in Tokyo at at kmatsuyama2@bloomberg.net.