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BoJ keeps key interest rate unchanged at 0.5% The Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold as rising energy and commodity prices erode profits and discourage spending by businesses. Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his six colleagues left the overnight lending rate at 0.5 percent with unanimous, the central bank said in a statement released in Tokyo today. The rate is the lowest among major economies. Signs that higher prices are squeezing companies prompted the government to say this week that the nation's longest postwar expansion may be over. Shirakawa last week said the central bank is focusing on the risk that growth will falter while it's also monitoring how price increases driven by oil and food will affect inflationary expectations. ``The Bank of Japan has no choice but to take a wait-and- see stance,'' said Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo. Economic conditions ``rule out the possibility of raising rates, while a rate cut is difficult because the governor has repeatedly said monetary conditions are accommodative.''