It’s beginning to look likely that Asian Development Bank chief Haruhiko Kuroda will take over the Bank of Japan stewardship. Now, Japan is looking to field its candidate who would replace Kuroda and keep its hold on the foremost financing agency for developing Asia.
In a news conference today, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso confirmed that Takehiko Nakao, the country’s top international finance official, could be among those in the running as the next ADB president if Kuroda assumes the role of the Bank of Japan governor.
Aso reiterated Japan’s intention to keep its unwavering hold over the ADB presidency, quieting rumors that Japan may finally cede its traditional leadership amid calls for a non-Japanese ADB president. Japan is the only other largest ADB shareholder aside from the United States.
“There will be an election to decide the presidency of the Asian Development Bank, so we have to campaign for Japan to win that position,” he told journalists in Tokyo, as reported by Bloomberg.
Nakao, 56, is Kuroda’s successor as Japan’s vice finance minister for international affairs, which gives him a pivotal role in regulating the government’s intervention in the currency market. He has an economics degree from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. He authored such publications as “Reforming the International Monetary System: Japan’s Perspective,” “Challenges in International Finance and Japan’s Responses,” and “America’s Economic Policy: Can it Sustain its Strength?”
ADB has declined to give a comment on this issue.
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