My finance view

The government put forward a former top finance ministry official on Tuesday as its second candidate to run the Bank of Japan, but opposition lawmakers warned he was likely to be vetoed, just like the first nominee.

Koji Tanami, head of a state-funded lending agency, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, was named by the government to head the central bank in a document obtained by Reuters.

The name surprised analysts, who had not seen Tanami as a potential candidate to end a stalemate between the ruling and opposition parties, just a day before current governor Toshihiko Fukui is due to retire.

Analysts and the government say the Bank of Japan must not have a leadership vacuum at a time when major central banks are working together to combat a global credit crisis and calm turbulent markets.

But it looked unlikely that Tanami, 68, would be accepted by opposition lawmakers who can veto his appointment through their control of parliament’s upper house http://fcrwizard.com.

Tanami held the same rank at the finance ministry as Toshiro Muto, the current deputy BOJ governor who was blocked in parliament last week when nominated for governor.

Muto was rejected as too close to the government by lawmakers who voiced concern about safeguarding the independence of the central bank, and a senior lawmaker in the main opposition Democratic Party, Kenji Yamaoka, said there was almost no chance the party would accept Tanami.

“Personally, I think it is almost impossible,” Yamaoka said, adding that his party would decide its stance by the end of the day. 

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