BOJ Joins Global Climate-Change Battle With Green Loan Support

The Bank of Japan joined the battle against global warming by offering a series of incentives for lenders to help businesses move toward a greener economy, with Governor Haruhiko Kuroda insisting there was no longer any time to waste.

The BOJ said Friday it would offer banks interest-free funds for climate-linked loans or investments and exempt more of their reserves from its negative interest rate. After a two-day meeting, the central bank also left its main policy settings unchanged and tweaked its economic forecasts to reflect the latest virus restrictions as Japan readies for a fan-free Olympics.

In a separate ...