[Global Times Special Correspondent Zhu Yueying Song Yi in Japan] The Japanese government submitted a personnel plan to the House Operations Committee of the House of Representatives on February 14. Economist Kazuo Ueda, who was a member of the Bank of Japan’s deliberation committee, will be the next central bank governor. Governor, succeeding current Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, whose term ends on April 8.
The two vice-president candidates are former Financial Services Agency chief Yoshino Ryozo Himi and central bank governor Shinichi Uchida.
After being approved by the House of Representatives and the House of Representatives, the Governor and Deputy Governor will take office on April 9 and March 20 respectively, with a term of five years.
Kazuo Ueda focuses on monetary policy research. He was a professor at the University of Tokyo and has been a member of the Bank of Japan's review committee for seven years since 1998.
In August 2000, Kazuo Ueda voted against the Bank of Japan's decision to lift the zero interest rate policy, and was seen as taking a positive stance on monetary easing.
On the other hand, Kazuo Ueda also took into account the side effects of monetary easing and is known as a "balancer".
Kazuo Ueda's nomination to head the central bank was widely seen in the media after markets closed on Friday, and he is widely seen as fumbling for an exit from the side effects of massive easing.
The Nikkei index once fell more than 400 points on the 13th.
On the 14th, the Nikkei 225 Index closed up 0.71% at 27622.46 points.
After taking office, Kazuo Ueda will become the first governor of the Bank of Japan who was born as a scholar after World War II.
Previously, a person who was not from the Bank of Japan and the Ministry of Finance was the 21st (1964-1969) Usami Jun, who served in the former Mitsubishi Bank.
At present, there are many examples of economists serving as the head of the central bank in major countries around the world, including the former chairman of the Federal Reserve and current US Treasury Secretary Yellen.
"Sankei Shimbun" reported on the 14th that Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura expressed his expectations for the new governor at the press conference that day, saying that "getting rid of deflation, improving and developing 'Abenomics', and promoting 'new capitalism' are important Very important." "Yomiuri Shimbun" stated that due to the high domestic prices in Japan, many households and enterprises are facing economic pressure, and hope that the new governor will pay attention to the negative impact of loose monetary policy.
"Asahi Shimbun" believes that based on the "Abenomics" proposed by the second Abe regime, the Bank of Japan began to implement a loose monetary policy, and it is the only central bank that continues to implement a large-scale loose monetary policy among the central banks of the world's major countries.
At the moment when the Bank of Japan's loose monetary policy has brought many side effects, whether Ueda Kazuo will continue to implement the current monetary policy or revise it will become the biggest focus.
On the evening of February 10, Ueda Kazuo said in an interview with the media that he fully understands the many difficulties he will face regarding the policy of normalizing large-scale monetary easing.
In addition, he also said in terms of monetary policy operating guidelines that under the current very difficult economic situation, he will flexibly and properly handle it according to price and economic trends.
Japan's Kyodo News commented that Kishida Fumio chose Ueda Kazuo instead of Deputy Governor Masaka Amamiya or former Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso, who were considered strong candidates, because the two men worked together with Haruhiko Kuroda to implement large-scale monetary easing , it may be difficult to modify the current policy.
Ueda Kazuo "proposed the 'time axis effect' theory" when he was a member of the central bank's review committee, that is, if he stated that he would continue the low interest rate policy before getting rid of deflation, then the effect of easing would increase over time.
When the Bank of Japan implemented the world's first zero interest rate policy and quantitative easing policy after the war, its theoretical pillar was Kazuo Ueda.
As a result, he is also believed to be aware of the shortcomings of quantitative easing.
Some Japanese media analyzed that Haruhiko Kuroda's large-scale easing policy since April 2013 has obvious side effects, including the sharp depreciation of the yen and the decline in financial market functions.
The Bank of Japan is currently purchasing a large amount of government bonds, which is actually paying for government borrowing on its behalf. It is in an "abnormal state like before the war". Similar criticisms are heard endlessly.
In the future, Kazuo Ueda needs to properly withdraw from the current large-scale monetary easing policy with obvious side effects while avoiding financial market chaos.
Some commentators also said that the current economic situation in Japan is constantly fluctuating. If the Bank of Japan makes a wrong judgment, it may lead to a sharp drop in national debt and a surge in interest rates.
According to the "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" report on the 14th, the preliminary statistics released by the Japanese Cabinet Office on the same day showed that Japan's real GDP will increase slightly by 1.1% in 2022, showing positive growth for two consecutive years, but the growth rate in 2022 will be significantly smaller than that of the previous year.
Data show that in 2022, personal consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's economy, will increase by 2.1% compared with 2021; business equipment investment will increase by 1.8%; residential investment will decrease by 4.7%; and exports of goods and services will increase by 4.9%.
Japanese Minister of Economic Regeneration Shigeru Yuki Goto said at a press conference that day that the Japanese economy is slowly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Source: Global Times)