TOKYO: Economist Kazuo Ueda replaced Haruhiko Kuroda as governor of the Bank of Japan on Sunday, as the central bank faces the challenge of normalizing monetary policy after 10 years of massive easing.

Ueda became the BOJ’s 32nd governor and the first to come from academia since the end of World War II, at a time of growing uncertainty due to inflation and economic slowdowns around the world.

The new governor will begin work in earnest on Monday and is expected to hold a press conference the same day.

The BOJ is scheduled to hold the first policy-setting meeting under Ueda’s leadership on April 27-28.

At a parliamentary hearing, Ueda has expressed his intention to continue the central bank’s current easing policy for the time being, saying that it is “appropriate to maintain the easing policy while exercising ingenuity.”

He also indicated that there is no need to immediately revise the joint statement issued by the government and the central bank that includes the goal of achieving 2 pct inflation stably, and stressed the importance of cooperation between the two sides.

Meanwhile, Ueda acknowledged that there are “various side effects” of the prolonged easing policy, such as distortions in bond and other financial markets and deterioration in the earnings of private financial institutions.

JIJI Press