TOKYO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) opted to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy Friday as it continues to grapple with achieving its lofty 2 percent inflation target.

The central bank's two-day policy meeting concluded with the bank voting to maintain its purchases of government bonds to push the 10-year yield close to zero.

In addition, the bank decided to continue to keep in place its interest rate of minus 0.1 percent on some funds parked there by financial institutions.

The BOJ has been attempting to raise the inflation rate in Japan to 2 percent, but despite a reasonably consistent spell of economic growth, the bank is still having a hard time hitting its target.

Underscoring the difficulty the bank is having, core consumer prices, excluding fresh food and energy costs because of their volatility, rose just 0.7 percent in April from a year earlier.

The BOJ choosing to maintain its hefty easing policy, now runs contrary to other major central banks, with the U.S. Federal Reserve regularly hiking its rates and the European Central Bank relying less on stimulus measures in its future planning.