The Bank of Japan's new leadership will officially start today as the Upper House on March 15 approved the Abe administration's nomination of Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank, as its governor and Mr. Kikuo Iwata, a Gakushuin University professor, and Mr. Hiroshi Nakaso, a BOJ executive director, as its deputy governors.
Mr. Kuroda is expected to adopt a policy of "bold monetary easing" to pull the Japanese economy out of its long-term deflation. He declared that he will do anything to achieve an inflation target of 2 percent within two years. But the new BOJ's new policy carries risks. People should strictly watch its effects.
The BOJ agreed to adopt a 2 percent inflation target in January in an accord with the government. But raising price levels by that margin should not be the BOJ's ultimate goal.