Kazuo Ueda (植田 和男, Ueda Kazuo, born September 20, 1951) is a Japanese economist who has been serving as the 32nd Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) since April 2023.

Kazuo Ueda
植田 和男
Kazuo Ueda in 2023
32nd Governor of the Bank of Japan
Assumed office
9 April 2023
Prime MinisterFumio Kishida
Preceded byHaruhiko Kuroda
Personal details
Born (1951-09-20) September 20, 1951 (age 73)
Makinohara, Japan
EducationUniversity of Tokyo (BS)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS, PhD)

He is a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) and also worked briefly as a professor at Kyoritsu Women’s University after his retirement from UTokyo in 2017. He was the dean of the Faculty of Economics at UTokyo and president of the Japanese Economic Association.

Biography

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Ueda graduated from the University of Tokyo with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and then studied at Faculty of Economics under Hirofumi Uzawa, Ryutaro Komiya, and Koichi Hamada.[1][2] In 1980, Ueda received his PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1] His doctoral advisor was Stanley Fischer.

After working at the University of British Columbia and Osaka University, he returned to his alma mater in 1989, retiring in 2017 to become Professor Emeritus.[1] From April 2011 to June 2012, Ueda was president of the Japan Economic Association.[1]

In February 2023, Ueda was nominated by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to succeed the long-serving Haruhiko Kuroda as Governor of the Bank of Japan. He was an unexpected choice as the position is usually filled by a senior official from the Ministry of Finance or the bank itself. Ueda began his term in April 2023.[3][4] On 19 March 2024, the BoJ under Ueda decided to end the zero-interest-rate policy and the yield curve control.[5] This was a milestone for the long-stagnant Japanese economy, as the bank rate had not been raised for 17 years due to deflation or very low inflation, which the country finally got out of with the help of the 2021-2023 global inflation surge.[6]

Other activities

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Works in Japanese

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Single-authored

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  • 国際マクロ経済学と日本経済 開放経済体系の理論と実証 (International Macroeconomics and the Japanese Economy: Theory and Evidence of an Open Economic System) 東洋経済新報社, 1983
  • 戦後の経済変動と経常収支 (Postwar Economic Fluctuations and the Current Account, Ministry of Finance, Financial Research Institute) 大蔵省財政金融研究所, 1986
  • 国際収支不均衡下の金融政策 (Monetary Policy under International Balance of Payments Imbalances) 東洋経済新報社, 1992 ISBN 4492651578
  • ゼロ金利との闘い 日銀の金融政策を総括する (Battling Zero Interest Rates: Evaluating the Bank of Japan’s Monetary Policy) 日本経済新聞社, 2005 ISBN 4532351839
  • 大学4年間の金融学が10時間でざっと学べる (Speed Learn University-Level Finance in 10 Hours) 中経出版, 2017

Co-authored

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "GraSPP: Profile of Kazuo UEDA". www.pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  2. ^ 東京大学教授 植田和男さん 理論と政策を行き来する(5) 大学への恩返しにと事務方の仕事も担う 日本経済新聞 2011年10月21日
  3. ^ Dooley, Ben; Ueno, Hisako (13 February 2023). "A Surprise Pick to Lead the Bank of Japan Faces a Wrenching Choice". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  4. ^ "日銀新総裁、植田和男氏を起用へ 経済学者で元審議委員". 日経電子版 (in Japanese). 日本経済新聞社. 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  5. ^ Nagata, Kazuaki (2024-04-08). "Ueda's first year as BOJ chief marked by smooth handling of policy shift". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  6. ^ "BoJ ends the zero-interest policy". The Nikkei (in Japanese). 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  7. ^ Board of Governors International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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Government offices
Preceded by Governor of the Bank of Japan
2023–present
Incumbent