The government Thursday selected Kobe University professor Ryuzo Miyao to replace Atsushi Mizuno on the Bank of Japan Policy Board.
The decision was made at a meeting of lawmakers, according to a Diet committee statement released in Tokyo. The appointment needs the Diet's approval. Because of his current job commitments, Miyao, 45, would take the post in March, even though Mizuno's term expires on Dec. 2, the statement said.
The personnel change may have little effect on the central bank's policy of keeping interest rates near zero percent because it forecasts consumer prices will keep falling until fiscal 2011.