"It's the equivalent of waving a white flag for unconditional surrender"
- Shuichi Obata, senior economist at Nomura Securities Co.
The current Governor of the Bank of Japan will step down on March 19, almost three weeks before his term was due, as he is facing intense pressure for stronger monetary easing. The departure of Masaaki Shirakawa means that a new governor and two new deputy governors, the bank's most senior policy members, will be able to take office together. Shirakawa also assured the stability of Japan's financial system even despite its failure to end the nation's trenchant deflation. After his actions were criticized, ministers and lawmakers have pledged a replacement that shares Abe's determination to end price declines. Shirakawa also claimed him and members of his policy board as pioneers of unconventional easing measures and have argued that more actions could severely disrupt the financial markets.
"It's the equivalent of waving a white flag for unconditional surrender," said Shuichi Obata, senior economist at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo. "Shirakawa didn't share the government's view that the central bank is responsible for ending deflation."
"There was no pressure at all from the government, this was my own decision," Shirakawa told reporters last night after a meeting with Abe, saying it was not an act of protest.
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