* Fed seen buying few hundred bln dollars in Treasuries -WSJ
* Buying programme seen covering several months -WSJ
* Programme would represent "measured approach" -WSJ (Adds details from report)
TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely next week to unveil a programme of U.S. Treasury bond purchases worth a few hundred billion dollars over several months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
What the Journal report called a "measured approach" compares with investors' base-case scenario of an initial commitment to buy at least $500 billion in Treasury debt over five months, in an effort to spur lending and to support an economic recovery that is too weak to tame high unemployment.
The Journal gave no source for the report on its website and said that, although details remain to be sorted out internally, the broad outlines have taken shape.
Fed officials meet on Nov. 2-3 and are widely expected to embark on a second round of monetary easing, but much uncertainty surrounds the scope and pace of possible bond purchases.
The Journal said Fed officials wanted to avoid the "shock and awe" style used during the global financial crisis in favour of an approach that allowed them to adjust their policy, and possibly add to their purchases, over time as the recovery unfolded.
It said the Fed could leave open the possibility of more purchases in the future, particularly if inflation is projected to remain below 2 percent and the unemployment outlook remains high, or it could halt the programme if the economy or inflation took off surprisingly.
The bond-buying programme is likely to focus on Treasury bonds with maturities mostly between two years and 10 years, it said.
The Fed could buy even longer-term bonds, although some officials are reluctant to do that aggressively because it could expose them to long-term losses without much added benefit, it said. (Reporting by Charlotte Cooper; Editing by Edmund Klamann)