Bank of Japan interim head may ascend
The government of Japan plans to propose that the Bank of Japan’s interim governor, Masaaki Shirakawa, be named central bank head to ensure attendance at a key international finance meeting next week, media reports said Friday.
The governor’s post has been vacant since March 19 because of a parliamentary deadlock over finding a successor. The opposition-controlled upper house has rejected two candidates named by the ruling party, which controls the lower house. Approval from both chambers is needed for the appointment.
Nominees have drawn scrutiny. The opposition claims that the two nominees so far have been too politically connected because they were previously career bureaucrats at the Ministry of Finance. Shirakawa was, however, appointed deputy governor.
Yukio Hatoyama, a top lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, indicated that his party may back Shirakawa if he is officially nominated for the top job.
"Personally it would be difficult for us not to approve [Shirakawa] as governor, since we have endorsed him as deputy governor," Hatoyama said Friday. "He is not affiliated with the Finance Ministry and is fully capable. I would think he can handle his task."
A third rejection will be a devastating embarrassment for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who runs the risk of having no central bank head to send to a Group of Seven finance chiefs’ meeting April 11 in Washington D.C.
"If possible, we’d like to send a governor, rather than a substitute, to the G-7 meeting," Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told a regular news conference.
Global credit on the table. The meeting is expected to address the global credit crisis pay day loan. Japan is fighting to stave off looming signs of a recession amid soaring oil prices, volatile markets, weakening company profits and a declining dollar.
Shirakawa, a former Bank of Japan executive director, was approved last month to become deputy governor and has been acting as interim bank chief.
Kyodo News reported the government has informally approached the opposition about promoting Shirakawa to governor.
Machimura later told reporters that the government planned to submit the proposal to parliament on Monday, Kyodo said.
Fukuda’s popularity ratings have plunged following a series of scandals, as well as the deadlock over picking a Bank of Japan chief.
"Realistically, we cannot do anything unless the upper house gives us a go-ahead. Without clearing that obstacle, we cannot reach a conclusion," ruling Liberal Democratic Party chief Bunmei Ibuki told reporters.
Filed under: online by Wolf