During countless shared lunches and impromptu meetings, Takatoshi Ito made a detailed and persuasive case that sold Haruhiko Kuroda on the inflation targeting regime he's pursued relentlessly as governor of the central bank. That was back in 1999, when Kuroda ran Japan's currency policy at the Finance Ministry and Ito was his deputy.

Now, the 66-year-old Ito's combination of academic expertise, policymaking experience and influence at the highest levels in the nation has him discussed among central bank watchers as among those with a chance to succeed Kuroda, or to become one of his deputies at the Bank of Japan should the governor make history by taking another term.

As a member of a G-20 task force on global financial governance, Ito is also well-connected with economic leaders around the world. His decades of work on both sides of the Pacific Ocean have seen him forge links with the biggest names in academic and policy circles.