Haruhiko Kuroda

Who is Haruhiko Kuroda?

Haruhiko Kuroda, is 31st and current Governor of the Bank of Japan. He was formerly the President of the Asian Development Bank from 1 February 2005 to 18 March 2013.

Kuroda has been an advocate of looser monetary policy in Japan. His February 2013 nomination by the incoming government of Shinzo Abe had been expected. Also nominated at the same time were Kikuo Iwata — "a harsh critic of past BOJ policies" — and Hiroshi Nakaso, a senior BOJ official in charge of international affairs, as Kuroda's two deputies. The former governor, Masaaki Shirakawa, left in March 2013.

"There is plenty of room for monetary easing" in Japan, Kuroda said in a February 2013 interview, adding that the BOJ could go beyond purchasing government bonds to include corporate bonds "or even stocks". The yen, which "has fallen 10% against the dollar since Abe began his campaign in November", also fell on the news of Kuroda's nomination. However, the new governor is "expected to use his experience as Japan’s top currency official until 2003 to rebut overseas criticism that Tokyo is using easy monetary policy to drive the yen lower, triggering a war of competitive currency devaluation".