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TOKYO, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) started a two-day meeting on Wednesday to discuss policies and evaluate the damage to economy amid a fresh state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The policy meeting was held as the central bank said in December that it will assess whether the policies employed to attain its two-percent inflation target have been effective.

The findings of the latest review are expected to be announced in the next meeting in March, according to local media reports.

The BOJ has taken the view that the economy "has picked up, although it has remained in a severe situation." The bank is expected to reveal its quarterly economic outlook report with its evaluation on the current situation on Thursday.

The second state of emergency, declared earlier this month to last until Feb. 7 for 11 prefectures, delivered a further blow to the Japanese economy, which is gradually recovering from a sluggish situation triggered by the previous emergency declaration over the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

According to the estimate by some economists, impact from the recently-declared state of emergency on the Japanese economy may be less severe compared to the previous one declared in April in some areas and then expanded nationwide until it was fully lifted in May.

However, many experts are concerned that consumption has been seriously hurt by the latest state of emergency.

The Japanese economy, measured in real gross domestic product, is estimated to shed 5.5 percent in fiscal year 2020 that will end in March.

The country's economy is expected to increase by 3.6 percent in fiscal 2021, according to the BOJ's forecasts released in October. Enditem