Opposition says ‘no’ to Noda’s man

TOKYO: Japan’s biggest opposition party said it will reject Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s central bank nominee as lawmakers press for a more aggressive monetary policy to spur growth and end deflation.

Liberal Democratic Party officials agreed on Tuesday to oppose BNP Paribas SA economist Ryutaro Kono joining the policy board, Fumio Kishida, head of the party’s Diet affairs committee, said in Tokyo.

Lawmakers’ complaints, a rebounding yen and pessimism among large manufacturers may add pressure on the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to loosen monetary policy further this month. Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his officials have pledged “powerful easing” until 1% inflation was in sight after increasing asset purchases by 10 trillion yen (Us$122bil) on Feb 14.

“It looks very difficult for the nomination to be passed,” said Yasuhide Yajima, senior economist at NLI Research Institute Ltd in Tokyo. “The BOJ may feel more pressure to ease this month because of this disagreement.”

Opposition to Kono’s nomination spans smaller parties and some lawmakers within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). Takeshi Miyazaki, a DPJ lawmaker and a leader of the ruling party’s anti-deflation group, said last month that Kono was perceived as someone whowas “negative towards monetary easing.”

Kono, ranked the nation’s top economist by Nikkei Veritas, the weekly edition of Japan’s largest business newspaper, wasn’t available to comment after his nomination was announced. — Bloomberg