Voted in as expected Wednesday by the Diet as the 30th Bank of Japan governor, Masaaki Shirakawa was quick to take a middle-of-the-road stance and note that instead of being a professor of monetary policy he is now in the position of setting it.
Shirakawa, who had been BOJ deputy governor but also acting governor while the central bank's helm remained vacant for the last three weeks amid the standoff in the divided Diet, said in his first news conference Wednesday night at BOJ headquarters in Tokyo that he is not comfortable with being considered either a hawk or a dove on monetary policy. A hawk would be someone eager to raise the interest rate and tighten monetary policy.
"Monetary policy is decided based on the economic and financial state of the time," he said. "One cannot be labeled."