The Japanese government proposed on Friday promoting Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto to chief to succeed Toshihiko Fukui, whose five-year term expires on March 19.
The appointment, which is favored by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party but requires approval by both houses of the Diet, will face a tough test next Friday during deliberation process at the plenary session of the Diet, whose Upper House is controlled by the opposition bloc.
Most opposition parties have been vowing to block the nomination, citing worries about the central bank's independence from the government under Muto who had served as vice finance minister.
However, the opposition bloc's big man and Democratic Party of Japan chief Ichiro Ozawa has remained mute on the appointment.
The government also appointed former BOJ Executive Director Masaaki Shirakawa and Takatoshi Ito, an economics professor at the University of Tokyo, to be new deputies.
In seeking for the appointment's smooth approval of the Diet, Fukuda had proposed talks with Ozawa on the matter, but received no response.
If the appointment were vetoed at the Diet, the top post of the central bank may be vacant for some time, which analysts worry could harm Japan's financial credibility and pose further adverse effect to the Japanese economy in addition to yen's continued appreciation and depressed stock markets.
Source: Xinhua
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