The markets are happy to see him go. He is the butt of jokes at the Finance Ministry, where bureaucrats mimic some of his well-worn phrases. Leading politicians in the ruling coalition blame him for the stagnant economy.
But Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami, 77, who departs Wednesday following a five-year term, says his conscience is clear.
"I have always acted in what I felt is in the best interests of the nation," he said earlier this month, following Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's nomination last month of Toshihiko Fukui, former deputy governor of the BOJ, as his successor.