The BOJ's decision came after Japan conducted yen-buying, dollar-selling market intervention in New York markets on Thursday, a move that failed to give the yen a sustained boost.
In a sign Tokyo's action had the blessing of Washington, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Japan may have intervened to prop up its currency that looked "very undervalued," according to a Fox Business Network reporter.
The government's action and comments by Bessent, who has repeatedly urged the BOJ to raise rates, put the market's focus on how hawkish Governor Kazuo Ueda could be on the future rate path in his post-meeting news briefing.
Tokyo's top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura on Friday declined to comment on intervention but hinted at U.S. involvement in the effort to stem the yen's decline, including so-called rate checks by the Fed.
He said Japan was communicating closely with South Korea, which also conducted dollar-selling intervention on Thursday.
Analysts say BOJ chief Ueda may need to talk down yen bears through hawkish communication, as prospects of U.S. rate hikes weigh on the yen's value against the dollar.
But pressure from a dovish administration and the potential economic hit from a 7.1-magnitude earthquake this week in the southern prefecture of Kumamoto, home to plants of major manufacturers and chipmakers, may dampen the hawkish mood.
So far, the economy appears to have weathered the hit from rising fuel costs and supply disruptions from the Middle East conflict, which are driving up inflation.
Factory output rose in June and manufacturers projected further increases this month and next, data showed on Friday.
Separate data also showed annual core inflation in Japan's capital accelerated to 1.7% in July, a sign of broadening price pressures from the Middle East conflict.
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