Kazuo
Ueda has been nominated as the next governor of the Bank of Japan by Prime
Minister Fumio Kishida. Kazuo Ueda is a professor of Economics and has received
a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ueda is a well-known
economist but his picking for being the central bank governor came as a
surprise, he will come across difficulties in the job as he would be under
pressure to join international peers in tightening the bank’s decade old
monetary policy.
Ueda
had earlier been a BoJ policy board member and will be taking over from
Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, the central bank’s longest-serving leader, he will be
stepping down on April 8 as his second tenure comes to an end.
Japan
is going through an economic crisis and data shows that its GDP has expanded
just 0.2 per cent in the last few months of 2022 but the country is hoping to
improve its economic status after the reopening of the country to tourists. The
Yen fell from around 115 against the dollar in February 2022 to a low of 151
Yen in October. The currency since has recovered to about 132 against the
dollar and when news of Ueda would be nominated came forward it further
strengthened. Inflation had caused a multi- decade high of 4 per cent in Japan
in December which is above the BoJ’s longstanding 2 per cent target that happened
due to soaring energy bills.
SaoriN.
Katada , an international relations professor in University of Southern
California stated that now Ueda will have the challenge of working out the
bank’s next step. He will also be tasked to examine the ultra-easy monetary
policy implemented by Haruhiko Kuroda. If Ueda is successfully chosen than his
first gathering with his board will take place between April 27-28.