The move initially boosted the Nikkei stock average by 200 points before fears about corporate earnings hit sentiment. The index closed moderately lower at 7,825.51.
The initiative comes a week after parliament approved funding for the government to buy up to Y20,000bn ($225bn, €173bn, £156bn) in stocks held by banks as part of a stimulus package. On the day of the vote, the ministry of economy, trade and industry, with a nod to cash-strapped businesses, had unveiled a Y15,000bn plan to encourage banks to buy shares by guaranteeing most of the value of such investments.
Masaaki Shirakawa, BoJ governor, said that bank shareholdings constituted “a problem for Japan's entire financial system”.