The government on Tuesday nominated Toyoaki Nakamura, an executive at Hitachi Ltd., to join the Bank of Japan’s nine-member Policy Board.
Nakamura, 67, would replace Yukitoshi Funo, a former executive of Toyota Motor Corp. who has consistently voted with the majority and holds a neutral policy stance.
If approved by the Diet, Nakamura will begin his five-year term July 1.
The Funo slot is traditionally reserved for a business executive. The Policy Board is comprised of academics, economists, career bureaucrats and senior officials from the finance and corporate sectors.
Members hailing from the corporate sector have tended to vote with the majority.
Nakamura would join the BOJ at a time the central bank is battling a strong economic headwind from the coronavirus crisis with a dwindling policy toolkit.
The BOJ eased monetary policy in an emergency meeting Monday, joining other central banks in combating the economic fallout from the epidemic.
The Policy Board is currently split between those who see room to increase stimulus and those more worried about the rising cost of prolonged easing.
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