The Bank of Japan injected a record 7 trillion yen ($85 billion) into the money market on Monday, its first same-day market operation since the Greek debt crisis, to soothe market jitters after a massive earthquake hit northeastern Japan.

The move is aimed at stabilizing financial markets and ensuring smooth fund settlement, a BOJ official told Reuters.

This was the central bank's first same-day operation, in which it injects funds to the market on the same day it offers them, since last May, when Greece's debt woes roiled the global financial markets.

The amount, at 7 trillion yen, is unprecedented and much higher than the usual 1 trillion to 2 trillion yen injected in the wake of big market-moving events.

BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Sunday that the central bank would provide huge amounts of liquidity to the banking system on Monday, reinforcing the bank's determination to keep markets stable in the wake of the disaster.

The central bank will meet later on Monday for a rate review, which was cut short from two days to one, and is seen keeping interest rates on hold at a range of zero to 0.1 percent

(Additional reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

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