Kishida's BOJ Pick Aimed at Appeasing Lawmakers, Seeking Exit

Tokyo, Feb. 14 (Jiji Press)--Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's pick for the next Bank of Japan governor has the double goal of gaining the understanding of lawmakers who back massive monetary easing and seeking a smooth exit from the policy, sources say.

The government Tuesday submitted to the Diet, the country's parliament, a list of its three BOJ leader nominees, including economist Kazuo Ueda for governor.

Kishida's selection came after the BOJ official viewed as the favorite to succeed outgoing Governor Haruhiko Kuroda declined to take on the role, forcing the government to consider nominating an academic for the position from mid-January.

By choosing Ueda, Kishida hopes to appease members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction, previously led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose signature economic policy mix Abenomics included aggressive monetary easing, sources say.

"The policy of Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will be taken over," Kishida said after sharing the governor nomination plan in a telephone call with a senior LDP member Friday evening.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]