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Haruhiko Kuroda

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Haruhiko Kuroda
黒田 東彦
31st Governor of the Bank of Japan
In office
20 March 2013 – 9 April 2023
Prime MinisterShinzō Abe
Yoshihide Suga
Fumio Kishida
Preceded byMasaaki Shirakawa
Succeeded byKazuo Ueda
8th President of the Asian Development Bank
In office
1 February 2005 – 18 March 2013
Preceded byTadao Chino
Succeeded byTakehiko Nakao
Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs
In office
8 July 1999 – 14 January 2003
Preceded byEisuke Sakakibara
Succeeded byZenbee Mizoguchi
Director General of the International Bureau
In office
15 July 1997 – 8 July 1999
Preceded byEisuke Sakakibara
Succeeded byZenbee Mizoguchi
Personal details
Born (1944-10-25) 25 October 1944 (age 80)
Ōmuta, Japan
SpouseKumiko Kuroda
Children2
EducationUniversity of Tokyo
University of Oxford
Signature

Haruhiko Kuroda (黒田 東彦, Kuroda Haruhiko, born 25 October 1944) is a Japanese banker and a former Ministry of Finance government official who served as the 31st Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) from March 2013 to April 2023 [1] and is currently a Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS).[2] From 2003 Mr Kuroda served as Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Koizumi, while teaching economics and finance as a Professor at the Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of Economics.[3] He was formerly the President of the Asian Development Bank from 1 February 2005 to 18 March 2013.[4][5]

Early life and education

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Kuroda was born in 1944, in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, the eldest son of his family. His father was a Japan Coast Guard officer. As a child he lived in Yokohama and Kobe before settling in Setagaya, Tokyo.[6]

He was matriculated at the University of Tokyo in 1963. Interested in the works of Karl Popper and Marx, he chose German as his first foreign language, which was an unusual choice among his peers.[7] From the second term of his second year, he specialised in Law, graduating from the Faculty of Law in 1967 after passing the bar exam.

After graduating, he joined the Ministry of Finance and then studied at All Souls College, Oxford, from 1969 to 1971, graduating with an MPhil in Economics.[8] At Oxford, he originally intended to study public finance under Ursula Kathleen Hicks, but finding out that she had already retired, he studied monetary economics under Richard Good Smethurst.[9]

Career

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Kuroda went on to hold various posts at the Ministry of Finance, culminating in the post of Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs (1999-2003). He resigned from the ministry in January 2003 and was appointed Special Advisor to the Cabinet in March 2003. From 2005 to 2013, he served as president of the Asian Development Bank.[10]

Bank of Japan governorship

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Kuroda advocated for loose monetary policy in Japan prior to his appointment at BOJ.[11] His February 2013 nomination by the incoming government of the Prime Minister Shinzō 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.[12]

2013

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"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 was "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".[12] Bloomberg quoted Stephen Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University, as saying about Kuroda's goals: "It’s a strong pledge from a well-intended man, but I’m not convinced it’s going to work."[13] When Kuroda was asked the same question in his assumption of office's press conference on 21 March, Kuroda said the BOJ's role is to stabilize prices, and stabilizing exchange rates is the role of the Ministry of Finance.[14][15][16] He also said that BOJ's "Quantitative and Qualitative Monetary Easing" policy was not intend to devalue the yen, aiming to grow out of deflation by targeting inflation.[17][18] Although there was opposition from developing countries, the policy was accepted by the other developed countries in the G20 summit. However, G20 members emphasized to Japanese policymakers that Japanese policy should be directed at domestic goals while highlighting the importance of a Japanese effort to reduce government debt.[19][20]

2016

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In early 2016 after a stretch of global market weakness, Kuroda led Japan's move into negative interest rates. The BOJ had already pushed its balance sheet from 35% to 70+% of GDP since 2013 and was continuing to buy ¥80 trillion (over $600 billion) of securities each month. "Risks were growing that the slowdown in the Chinese, emerging and resource-producing countries, which has caused volatility and instability in financial markets since the beginning of the year, may hurt confidence among domestic [Japanese] companies", Kuroda was quoted as saying at the time of the interest-rate cut.[21]

2022

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Kuroda maintained a dovish stance in early 2022, with the Bank of Japan buying unlimited bonds at 0.25bps.

2023

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Kuroda retired from the Bank of Japan in April 2023,[22] to be succeeded by Kazuo Ueda.[23] After retirement he took up a position at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) as a Professor and Senior Fellow of the GRIPS Alliance.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 'Japan's central bank to keep retreating from stimulus under Haruhiko Kuroda, former BOJ member says', The Japan Times, 20 February 2018.
  2. ^ Former BOJ chief Kuroda joins Japan’s GRIPS policy school as fellow - Japan Times (04/12/2023)
  3. ^ "Haruhiko Kuroda". 10 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Haruhiko Kuroda is ADB president". rediff.com. 18 November 2004. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  5. ^ "Biographies of past ADB presidents". Asian Development Bank (ADB). Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  6. ^ "日銀黒田総裁の"上級国民"生活！生涯収入11億円超え、億ションは現金で一括購入 | 女性自身". Josei Jishin (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  7. ^ "黒田東彦（前日本銀行総裁） 私の履歴書（５）分析哲学". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). 5 November 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  8. ^ "黒田 東彦 特命教授". 京都大学経営管理大学院 (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Speech by Governor Kuroda at the University of Oxford (The Role of Expectations in Monetary Policy: Evolution of Theories and the Bank of Japan's Experience) : 日本銀行 Bank of Japan". Bank of Japan. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  10. ^ A summary of his role as president of the Asian Development Bank is in Peter McCawley, 2017, Banking on the Future of Asia and the Pacific: 50 Years of the Asian Development Bank, Manila: Asian Development Bank, pp. 272-273.
  11. ^ "Nikkei jumps to 53-month high as Kuroda seen likely next BOJ chief". Reuters. 24 February 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  12. ^ a b Sekiguchi, Toko (27 February 2013). "Tokyo nominates Haruhiko Kuroda as BOJ chief". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013..
  13. ^ "Kuroda talks up bond buying to hit price target". The Japan Times. Bloomberg News. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  14. ^ "総裁・副総裁就任記者会見(3月21日)要旨" (PDF). Bank of Japan. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  15. ^ Bank of Japan Act, Article 2; Currency and monetary control by the Bank of Japan shall be aimed at achieving price stability, thereby contributing to the sound development of the national economy.
  16. ^ 財務省設置法 第三条 　財務省は、健全な財政の確保、適正かつ公平な課税の実現、税関業務の適正な運営、国庫の適正な管理、通貨に対する信頼の維持及び外国為替の安定の確保を図ることを任務とする。
  17. ^ "Quantitative and Qualitative Monetary Easing" (PDF). Bank of Japan. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  18. ^ "BOJ Gov Kuroda: BOJ Easing Policy Not Targeting Exchange Rates". The Wall Street Journal. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  19. ^ "Lew says Bank of Japan action aimed at domestic demand". Reuters. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  20. ^ "Communiqué G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Washington DC, April 19, 2013". G20 Information Centre. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  21. ^ Nakamichi, Takashi, Megumi Fujikawa and Eleanor Warnock, "Bank of Japan Introduces Negative Interest Rates" (possibly subscription-only)[permanent dead link], Wall Street Journal, 29 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  22. ^ Kihara, Leika (7 April 2023). "Kuroda less dovish as he departs BOJ after decade of massive stimulus". Reuters.com. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 11 July 2023. in his farewell as Japan's central bank chief on Friday
  23. ^ Gov't nominates academic Kazuo Ueda as next Bank of Japan governor - Mainichi Newspaper (02/14/2023)
Positions in intergovernmental organisations
Preceded by President of the Asian Development Bank
2005–2013 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Governor of the Bank of Japan
2013–2023 		Succeeded by
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