Japanese opposition lawmakers yesterday voted down Bank of Japan deputy Toshiro Muto as the next central bank chief, defying the government, which refused to look for a new candidate.
The political standoff makes it increasingly likely that the central bank of the world's second-largest economy will be run by a caretaker governor after Toshihiko Fukui steps down next Wednesday.
"For now we aren't thinking of an alternative proposal to the original nomination," Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga told reporters.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura urged the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) to reconsider its resistance to Muto, a former top official at the finance ministry.
The opposition-controlled upper house voted 129 to 106 to reject Muto's nomination, official results showed. The candidate must be approved by both houses of parliament.
`too cozy'
Opposition lawmakers are concerned that Muto is too cozy with the government and that his appointment might damage the central bank's independence.
The upper house also rejected the nomination of Takatoshi Ito -- a University of Tokyo professor and economic adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda -- as one of Muto's two deputies.
However, it approved the appointment of Masaaki Shirakawa, a former executive director at the bank and now a Kyoto University professor, as a deputy governor.
If the row over the central bank governor is not resolved in time, Shirakawa could become temporary governor.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS