MNI BRIEF: Japan's Govt Nominates Ueda For BOJ Governor

Japan's government on Tuesday officially nominated Kazuo Ueda, an economist and former Bank of Japan board member, as the BOJ’s next governor to replace Haruhiko Kuroda, whose term ends on April 8, Nikkei reported.

Ueda will be the first postwar BOJ governor from an academic economics backgrounds. The choice came after BOJ Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya, who was considered the favorite, declined the offer. Governor-elect Ueda is viewed as being supportive of ultra-low rates. (See MNI POLICY: Ueda Supports BOJ's Easy Policy, Could Tweak YCC)

The government also nominated Shinichi Uchida, the BOJ executive director in charge of monetary policy, and Ryozo Himino, former chief of the Financial Services Agency, to deputy governors. The term of BOJ Deputy Governors Amamiya and Masazumi Wakatabe ends on March 19.

The government will conduct hearings for the BOJ nominees at the Lower House’s steering committee and the Upper House’s Steering committee. The nominees will be approved by both the Lower and Upper houses as the ruling coalition has a majority in both chambers of the Diet.