(Corrects typographical error in quote in paragraph 2)
NIIGATA, Japan, May 12 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan's
new governor Kazuo Ueda made a "very wise" decision to launch a
review of the central bank's past monetary policy moves,
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told an
interview with public broadcaster NHK on Thursday.
"I have met him on several occasions now and he comes across
as a very calm, solid, determined gentleman. He's a good
communicator," Lagarde said in the interview during her visit to
the Japanese city of Niigata to attend the G7 finance leaders'
gathering.
"Mr. Ueda has been very wise to decide a strategy review
under his new leadership to really understand the strength, the
weaknesses, identify the best direction to take in order to
maintain price stability," she said.
A soft-spoken academic with a PhD from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Ueda succeeded Haruhiko Kuroda as head
of the BOJ last month, and since then has visited the United
States and South Korea to attend international meetings.
He is now in Niigata to chair the Group of Seven (G7)
finance leaders' meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi
Suzuki. Stubbornly high inflation and the outlook for monetary
policy are among key topics of debate at the three-day gathering
that ends on Saturday.
With inflation exceeding the BOJ's 2% target but due mostly
to rising import costs rather than strong wage gains, Ueda has
stressed the need to keep monetary policy ultra-loose - but also
be mindful of the rising cost of prolonged easing such as the
strain on financial institutions' profits.
At his debut policy meeting in April, Ueda announced a plan
to conduct a review of its past monetary policy moves, laying
the groundwork for gradually phasing out his predecessor's
massive stimulus programme.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara
Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
Messaging: leika.kihara.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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