The government formally appointed academic Kazuo Ueda as the next Bank of Japan governor for a five-year term, succeeding Haruhiko Kuroda. Ueda, 71, is the first BOJ chief hailing from academia in postwar Japan and is seen as a pragmatist with deep knowledge of monetary policy. He served as a member of the central bank's decision-making body between 1998 and 2005.

His tenure, starting Sunday, comes at a difficult time for the BOJ as it balances supporting the economy with monetary easing to attain its elusive 2% inflation target and growing calls to further reduce its side effects. Ueda, who has taught at the prestigious University of Tokyo and Kyoritsu Women's University, will work with two new deputy governors - Ryozo Himino and Shinichi Uchida. Himino, a former commissioner of Japan's financial watchdog, and Uchida, an executive director of the BOJ, assumed their posts on March 20.