Tokyo stocks climbed 1.60 percent to close at their highest level in more than five years Wednesday, with investor appetite unabated due to a weak yen and record-setting levels on Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 246.24 points to 15,627.26, the best finish since late December 2007. The Topix index of all first-section issues was up 0.44 percent, or 5.64 points, at 1,276.03. Stocks maintained their gains after the Bank of Japan made its widely-expected announcement of no new easing measures.

SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top central banker said Wednesday that the potential end of the U.S. Federal Reserve's massive monetary easing drive could spark risks from a rise in bond yields, raising the need to brace for impacts of such a policy shift. Speculation is growing that the Fed may slow the pace of its bond purchases this year, which probably will jack up bond yields, causing losses for bond holders such as banks and other financial institutions.

The Bank of Japan decided Wednesday to maintain its current aggressive monetary easing policy aimed at beating deflation and upgraded the country's economic assessment, at a time when consumption and exports have started to recover, backed by a weakening yen and rising stocks. Lifting the economic assessment for a fifth month in a row, the central bank said "Japan's economy has started picking up," revising upward its description at the previous policy meeting on April 26 saying that it "has stopped weakening and has shown some signs of picking up."

The Bank of Japan on Wednesday held off fresh easing measures, saying after a two-day policy meeting that a continuation of steps introduced last month would help Japan overcome deflation. The central bank said its widely expected decision to stand pat was reached by a unanimous vote by its board. In early April, the bank's new management team -- hand picked by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- embarked on a new era of huge asset purchases and massive monetary easing.