Japan's lower house of parliament approved yesterday the government's nominee for Bank of Japan (BoJ) chief, setting the stage for a political showdown with less than a week left in the current governor's term.
The approval came a day after the opposition-controlled upper house rejected Toshiro Muto, a deputy governor at the central bank. The opposition said Muto's long history as a former bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance would undermine the bank's independence.
"The next governor should be able to dialogue with the markets and the financial world, have the power to preserve the bank's independence, and have the presence to project Japan's interests on the international stage," Democratic Party lawmaker Masaharu Nakagawa said ahead of the vote. "The government's choices do not satisfy these criteria."
But the ruling Liberal Democrats, who control the more powerful lower house, defended the choice of Muto.
"The governor has the duty to uphold the bank's independence according to bank law. It doesn't matter what that person's background is or where they have worked," said Takumi Nemoto of the ruling party.
The stalemate in the Diet is a major embarrassment to the government, coming at a time when fears are growing about a global slowdown and central banks around the world are trying to work together to calm jittery markets.
Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui will step down on Wednesday. The appointment of his successor needs approval from both houses of parliament.
Muto, 64, was nominated for the top spot last week.
The lower house also approved the government's nominees for the bank's two deputy governor positions. The upper house approved one of the two on Wednesday, former BoJ executive director Masaaki Shirakawa, 58.
Shirakawa, a Kyoto University professor, is likely to step in to serve as interim bank chief if the government and opposition cannot come to an agreement on the appointments.
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's popularity ratings have been dropping lately, particularly over the scandal-plagued defense ministry's mishandling of a military ship's crashing with a fishing boat. Many Japanese are eager to see new political leadership.
Public opinion has been mixed over the imbroglio. Newspaper editorials expressed concern over possible delays in the appointment of new governor.
The Nikkei Shimbun called for politicians to act quickly given the global financial turmoil.
"The international financial crisis appears grave, given that the US and European central banks having stepped in with emergency rescue packages," the paper said in an editorial. "Japan has an international duty to select the next governor quickly."
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
OVERHAUL: The move would likely mark the end to Voice of America, which was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and operated in nearly 50 languages The parent agency of Voice of America (VOA) on Friday said it had issued termination notices to more than 639 more staff, completing an 85 percent decrease in personnel since March and effectively spelling the end of a broadcasting network founded to counter Nazi propaganda. US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) senior advisor Kari Lake said the staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of US President Donald Trump’s agenda to cut staffing at the agency to a statutory minimum. “Reduction in Force Termination Notices were sent to 639 employees at USAGM and Voice of America, part of a
Canada and the EU on Monday signed a defense and security pact as the transatlantic partners seek to better confront Russia, with worries over Washington’s reliability under US President Donald Trump. The deal was announced after a summit in Brussels between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness ... to invest more and to invest smarter,” Costa told a news conference. “It opens new opportunities for companies on both sides of the
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image
RSS