Having agreed on a ¥20 trillion economic stimulus package and a hefty ¥13.1 trillion supplementary budget, the next big task for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet will be nominating the right person to head the Bank of Japan.
Abe told reporters Wednesday before heading out for a visit to Southeast Asia that he wants to find someone on the same page as him regarding monetary policy. He has repeatedly said his administration will pursue monetary easing "with measures from a different dimension."
Traditionally, veteran BOJ officials and former Finance Ministry bureaucrats have taken turns as governor of the central bank. But since a revision of the Bank of Japan Law in 1998 gave the BOJ more independence, no former bureaucrat has been given the top job.