Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The Bank of Japan, the country’s central bank, will hold an emergency policy meeting this week, NHK reported, without saying where it obtained the information.

The bank will discuss creating a special lending program for the first time in 10 years as Japanese companies face difficulties procuring capital and banks become more cautious about lending, public broadcaster NHK said on its Web site.

Under the plan being considered by the BOJ, the banks would be able to use corporate bonds with lower credit ratings as collateral, NHK said.

The central bank, which lowered the benchmark overnight rate to 0.3 percent last month from 0.5 percent, is looking for ways to stimulate the economy and encourage lending. Since the cut, Shirakawa has said at least six times that further reductions could impede the flow of funds in the money market by making returns so low that investors have little incentive to trade.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tak Kumakura in Tokyo tkumakura@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 30, 2008 17:58 EST