Japan appoints academic Ueda as new governor of the central bank

The Japanese government said it has appointed academic Kazuo Ueda as the next central bank governor, in a surprise choice that could boost chances of ending its unpopular yield control policy.

Ueda, 71, a former board member of the Bank of Japan, will succeed Haruhiko Kuroda, whose second five-year term ends on April 8, according to documents submitted to parliament on Tuesday.

The leadership transition marks a historic end to Kuroda’s decade-long monetary experiment, which eventually saw Japan follow the example of other large economies in raising interest rates.

With inflation exceeding the BoJ’s 2 percent target, Ueda faces the delicate task of adjusting the bank’s longstanding ultra-loose policy, which has drawn mounting public criticism for distorting market functioning and machinery and crushing banks’ margins.