BOJ Vice Governor Iwata pursued a policy of changing the Policy Board's membership from the existing members to fellow reflationists, while using members of the Showa Financial Crisis Study Group as advisory policy advisers. The selection process for candidates reportedly accelerated following a lunch meeting in 2015.
BOJ Vice Governor Iwata is said to have advanced a personnel plan for the Policy Board centered on fellow reflationists. The importance of advice from the study group and the use of outside advisers is emphasized.
Iwata frequently consulted members of the Showa Financial Crisis Study Group as policy advisers, and they are believed to have influenced discussions at BOJ policy meetings.
The October 2015 lunch meeting was attended by Wakatabe (若田部), Harada (原田), Adachi (安達), Kataoka (片岡) and Iida (飯田), 5 people in total. Four of them were later appointed as BOJ vice governors or Policy Board members. Sakurai (櫻井) later became a Policy Board member on Iwata's recommendation.
The government's personnel decisions reportedly proceeded through Cabinet Adviser Honda (本田) and with the approval of the Abe administration. Nine Policy Board members were reportedly from the reflationist camp, with the remainder drawn from within the BOJ.