Central banks have to fulfill various functions, and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is no exception. Its main office is located in the Nihonbashi business district in Tokyo.
The country’s central bank is responsible for issuing and handling currency and treasury securities, implementing monetary policy, maintaining the stability of the local financial system, and providing settling and clearing services.
As in the case of most central banks, it also compiles and aggregates economic data and produces economic research and analysis.
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The Bank of Japan is headed by the governor. The current governor is Haruhiko Kuroda. He is the 31st governor of the country’s central bank and was formerly the President of the Asian Development Bank.
Haruhiko Kuroda was nominated for a new five-year term in February 2018. The central bank’s current governor advocates a looser monetary policy.
Interesting facts about the Bank of Japan
There are also two deputy governors, six members of the policy board, three or a few auditors, “a few” counselors, as well as six executive directors heading the Bank of Japan.
All of these officers belong to the central bank’s Policy Board, which is the BOJ’s decision-making body.
The Policy Board sets currency and monetary controls, the basic principles for the Bank of Japan’s operations, and oversees the duties of the central bank’s officers, excluding auditors as well as counselors.
It includes the governor and the deputy governors, auditors, executive directors, and counselors. What’s interesting, there are 15 departments at the Bank’s head office, 32 branches, and 14 local offices.
Country’s central bank and policymakers
The country’s central bank decides and implements monetary policy in order to maintain price stability. The Bank of Japan manipulates interest rates for the purpose of currency and monetary control using operational instruments, such as money market operations.
It is worth noting that monetary policy is decided by the Policy Board at Monetary Policy Meetings (MPMs).
At Monetary Policy Meetings, the Policy Board discusses the country’s economic as well as financial situation, sets the guidelines for money market operations, as well as the central bank’s monetary policy stance for the immediate future.
Such meetings are held eight times a year for two days. Importantly, monetary policy decisions are made by a majority vote of the nine members of the Policy Board.
The BOJ uses in-depth research and analysis of economic and financial conditions when deciding monetary policy.
The country’s central bank immediately releases its decisions on monetary policy after each MPM. The central bank also holds regular press conferences by the chair of the Policy Board — the Governor — in order to explain monetary policy decisions.
It also releases the Summary of Opinions at each MPM as well as the minutes of MPMs. The Bank of Japan also releases its transcripts ten years later to provide transparency regarding Policy Board decisions.
As can be seen from the information mentioned earlier, the country’s central bank has to take care of various issues.
