Japan's central bank doubled the amount of cash it will make available to banks while keeping interest rates at a record low in an effort to fight deflation after a two-day policy board meeting on March 17, Xinhua reported.

The bank decided to keep its key interest rate at 0.1 percent and doubled the mount of cash available to banks to 20 trillion yen.

The bank said "it recognized that it is a critical challenge for Japan's economy to overcome deflation and return to a sustainable growth path with price stability," and "the bank will continue to aim to maintain the extremely accommodative environment."