Parliament approves Kuroda nomination

Japan's Parliament Friday approved Haruhiko Kuroda to be the central bank's next governor, which could lead to more monetary easing to boost the economy. The approval of Kuroda's nomination to be the next head of the Bank of Japan by both houses of Parliament is a victory for the new government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose top priority is to lift the economy from its years of chronic deflation. Parliament also approved the nominations of Kikuo Iwata and Hiroshi Nakaso as the BOJ's deputy chiefs. All three will take over when the current team leaves office next week. Kuroda, 68, comes to his new job after being president of the Asian Development Bank. He has been described as an advocate of bold monetary easing. The BOJ doubled its inflation target to 2 percent in January. Kyodo News reported Kuroda and Iwata have pledged to achieve the 2 percent inflation target within two years. The Abe government also has taken other stimulus steps to boost the export-driven economy. Some of these already have helped sharply bring down the value of the yen against the U.S. dollar. A lower yen helps make Japanese exports less expensive. The Tokyo stock market was up in early trading Friday after news of approval of Kuroda's nomination. Under Kuroda, the Asian Development Bank tripled its capital base from $55 billion to $165 billion. He also helped the bank adopt a new long-term strategy, refocusing its operational agenda on inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional cooperation and integration. Before joining the ADB, Kuroda was special adviser in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and a professor at the Graduate School of Economics at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. He graduated in law from the University of Tokyo and earned his graduate degree in economics from the University of Oxford.