Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said late Monday he will name a new Bank of Japan governor around Feb. 20, but stopped short of saying who would get the job.

"I had said a successor (to Gov. Masaru Hayami) would be named by the end of February." Koizumi said. "But I have to pick one a bit earlier."

Hayami's tenure expires March 19, and a controversy has been swirling as to whether his replacement will adopt an inflation target. Hayami, who has guided short-term interest rates down to virtually zero, maintains that the BOJ alone cannot tackle deflation.