"Abenomics" looks ready to bloom just in time for spring, given the Diet's approval Friday of Haruhiko Kuroda as the next governor of the Bank of Japan.
As head of the central bank, Kuroda, currently president of the Asian Development Bank, will have vast powers over fiscal and monetary policy that some say even exceed those of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. But Kuroda also has been clear that he will coordinate with Abe's ultraloose monetary agenda and has promised to attain the BOJ's 2 percent inflation target within two years.
Critics welcome his ambitious remarks but warn about setting the bar too high. "Achieving the 2 percent mark in two years is not going to be easy," Takehiro Noguchi, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute, told The Japan Times on Friday.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.