WASHINGTON: Kenji Okamura, special adviser to Japan’s cabinet, will become deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund on Dec. 3, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Wednesday.

Okamura, former Japanese vice finance minister for international affairs, will replace Mitsuhiro Furusawa, also Japanese, as deputy managing director. Furusawa will step down at the end of November.

Japan, the second-largest contributor to the IMF after the United States, will keep the IMF deputy post for the fifth consecutive term.

A graduate of the University of Tokyo, Okamura, 60, joined Japan’s Ministry of Finance in 1985. He assumed the post of vice minister for international affairs in July 2020 after serving in positions including director-general of the MOF’s International Bureau.

He has been serving as special adviser to the cabinet since July this year.

The IMF’s top post of managing director has been customarily held by officials from Europe.

The four deputy posts are currently occupied by those from Japan, the United States, China and Liberia.

JIJI Press