TOKYO -- Ever since Friday, when his name was first reported in the media, Kazuo Ueda has stayed studiously silent. As the next governor of the Bank of Japan, silence will be a new and unaccustomed way of life for the voluble academic, who teaches in the business faculty at Tokyo's Kyoritsu Women's University and holds an honorary professorship at the University of Tokyo. Ueda writes prolifically, often for Nikkei, and is one of Japan's foremost experts on monetary policy.
Following the submission of his nomination to parliament on Tuesday morning, Ueda emerged from his Tokyo home to a gaggle of reporters. "I've been told [by the bank] not to comment on anything," he said, apologetically. "There is nothing I can tell you. ... I will answer various questions in parliament," Ueda added, before hurrying away from the cameras.