The Bank of Japan on Friday decided in principle to reduce its purchases of Japanese government bonds, taking another step toward policy normalization following its first rate hike in 17 years in March. The central bank says it will decide on the detailed reducing strategy in the next meeting. Until then, it will continue purchases at the current pace, which is at around 6 trillion yen ($38.1 billion) per month. The move marks another move toward policy normalization that started on March 19, when the central bank decided to end its zero interest rate policy, new equity purchases and yield curve controls but stopped ... (full story)