TOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - An investigation by Japan's
government, conducted on request by parliament, found there were
no media leaks by government officials on the selection of the
nominee for next central bank governor, a ruling party lawmaker
said on Thursday.
The Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday the government was
expected to appoint academic Kazuo Ueda as the next Bank of
Japan (BOJ) governor, which other media including Reuters also
reported on the day.
Four days later, the government officially announced Ueda as
its pick to succeed incumbent BOJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda when
his second, five-year term ends in April.
On request by the lower house steering committee, the prime
minister's office conducted an investigation into whether
officials violated a tacit rule that bans them from leaking the
names of nominees for key public posts to the media before they
are presented to parliament.
The government said the investigation, which targeted 14
government officials as well as the nominees for BOJ governor
and two deputies, found there were no leaks, Shunichi Yamaguchi,
head of the lower house steering committee, told reporters.
The government said it offered the BOJ governor post to Ueda
and the two deputy posts to former banking watchdog head Ryozo
Himino and BOJ executive Shinichi Uchida, on Feb. 13 - a day
before the official government announcement, Yamaguchi said.
The rule on the government nominations was set in 2013 to
prevent names of government nominees for key public positions,
which could move markets, from being leaked to the media before
they are formally presented to parliament for approval.
While not legally binding, the rule requires the government
look into any media leaks and brief lawmakers on the result, as
well as come up with measures to avoid a recurrence.
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; writing by Leika Kihara;
Editing by Sam Holmes)
Messaging: leika.kihara.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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