3rd LD Writethru: Bank of Japan raises interest rate to 17-year high

TOKYO, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Friday raised its policy interest rate to the highest level in 17 years, marking another step to unwind its long-standing ultra-loose monetary stimulus.

Following a two-day policy meeting, the BOJ decided to raise the policy rate, or the overnight call rate, to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent, which is in line with market expectations.

This marks the thi