TOKYO, April 30 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold on Thursday and held off on any new initiatives as it gauges whether the measures it has taken so far to ease credit strains are helping ease the country's worst recession since World War Two.
The decision to keep rates on hold was made by a unanimous vote, as widely expected.
The BOJ will release its half-yearly economic and price outlook report for April at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT). Governor Masaaki Shirakawa will then hold an embargoed news conference, with his comments expected to come out some time after 4:15 p.m. (0715 GMT).
Japan's economy is mired in its worst recession since World War Two and after a 3.2 percent slump in the fourth quarter of 2008 is expected to have contracted even more in the first quarter of this year, despite some early tentative signs of recovery in exports.
The central bank releases its outlook report with its long-term economic and price forecasts in April and October each year. These forecasts form a base for its monetary policy decisions.
It reviews the forecasts in January and July. (Reporting by Leika Kihara, Tetsushi Kajimoto)