TOKYO - Japan's central bank, starting a two-day policy board meeting Tuesday, is studying ways to maintain corporate financing amid a recession-struck economy. The Bank of Japan has little left to do in lowering interest rates with the benchmark rate at 0.1 percent since December.

It now purchases 1.4 trillion yen ($14 billion) in long-term Japanese government bonds a month to pump money into the financial system and could decide to raise that amount to meet the growing need for cash in the market.

Most Japanese companies' fiscal year ends March 31, and the credit crunch is tight amid a global downturn. Fears are growing that Japanese bankruptcies and unemployment could rise in coming weeks. Japanese financial organizations were largely spared the damage from the subprime mortgage crisis that has battered U.S. banks and brokerages.

But the drop-off in demand for exports has sent Japan into a deeper contraction in recent months than have the U.S. or European economies. Japan's gross domestic product fell at a 12.1 percent annual rate in the October-December quarter — the worst drop since the oil shock of 1974 and double the pace of the recent decline in the U.S.

The Bank of Japan is also considering other measures to boost financing at commercial banks such as taking up their loans to encourage banks to lend to businesses, The Nikkei, Japan's major business daily, reported Tuesday. The central bank already buys commercial paper, corporate bonds and stocks from financial institutions to help shore up their balance sheets.