Japan’s next central bank governor needs the ability to be "crafty” in how they communicate and should largely stick with loose monetary policy, according to Akira Amari, a former economy minister who was involved in laying out the country’s 10-year-old inflation target.
"I’d like to see someone who can use a bit of cunning in a good way,” Amari said in an interview Friday. "If something has to be done that the markets may take negatively, they should be able to release information little by little so that by the time of the announcement it’s already factored in. Someone who can be crafty would be good.”
His comments come after current Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda faced criticism over his communication last month when he shocked financial markets with unexpected tweaks to policy that sent the yen soaring. The BOJ left policy unchanged at this month’s meeting, this time prompting a slide in the yen and bond yields.