TOKYO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday and said it will examine buying corporate bonds to ease credit strains for companies as the nation's recession deepens.
The decision on rates was unanimous.
BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa will hold an embargoed news conference later in the day, with his comments expected to come out some time after 4:15 p.m. (0715 GMT).
Japan slipped into its first recession in seven years in the third quarter of 2008 and may go through a deeper slump in subsequent quarters as exports and output have tumbled since last September due to the global economic slump.
The BOJ cut rates to 0.10 percent from 0.30 percent last month. (Reporting by Leika Kihara and Yuzo Saeki)