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TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan slightly upgraded its assessment on the economy on Friday for the first time in nearly three years, while keeping interest rates on hold as it takes stock of some signs of recovery in the economy.
The BOJ said the economy was deteriorating but exports and output were leveling out, ditching its assessment of the past several months that the economy was deteriorating sharply.
The decision to keep rates on hold was made by a unanimous vote, as widely expected.
The BOJ also said it would do its utmost to contribute to put the Japanese economy on sustainable recovery path under stable prices, suggesting that the central bank is in no hurry to seek an exit strategy from current easy monetary policy.
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). (Reporting by Chisa Fujioka, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Hideyuki Sano)