Japan's central bank holds record 581 trln yen in bonds

TOKYO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said Friday it held more than 581 trillion yen (4.4 trillion U.S. dollars) in government bonds as of March, the largest on record for the end of a fiscal year.

The number was up 10.6 percent from a year earlier after the BOJ ramped up buying to hold down the yield on the benchmark 10-year issue, while the central bank's total assets, including exchange-traded fu