The Japanese central bank, the Bank of Japan (BOJ), on Thursday ended its last policy meeting under the outgoing governor Masaaki Shirakawa, without releasing any new policies.

The central bank kept its monetary policy unchanged as it is likely to continue assessing the impact of the 2-percent inflation target introduced by the BOJ in January to curb deflation.

The BOJ also maintained its key short-term interest rate at around zero to 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the central bank also upgraded its assessment of Japan's economy and said it has stopped weakening.

Shirakawa will resign on March 19 along with his two deputies and the Japanese Diet is mulling whether to approve the government 's nomination of Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda as next BOJ chief.

The government also nominated Gakushuin University professor Kikuo Iwata and BOJ Executive Director Hiroshi Nakaso as deputy governors.

The nomination of the three is likely to be approved by parliament on March 15, according to local media.