Kikuo Iwata (岩田規久男) was nominated as a candidate for deputy governor of the Bank of Japan and declared that he would resign if the Bank failed to achieve its 2% inflation target within 2 years of his appointment. The article briefly covers Iwata's career, internal debate at the Bank of Japan and the reflationist movement at the time.
Under the personnel policy of the Abe administration, the government submitted a personnel proposal to the Diet to appoint Kikuo Iwata (岩田規久男) as deputy governor of the Bank of Japan. During confirmation questioning after his appointment, Iwata stated unequivocally that the deadline for achieving the 2% inflation target was the first 2 years after his appointment, and indicated that he would resign if it was not achieved. In response to questions from the opposition, Iwata made strong statements and prominently set out his views on monetary policy.
Iwata had long been regarded as a leading figure among reflationists and had argued critically about the Bank of Japan's easing policy. Meanwhile, many people within the Bank shared the view that expanding the monetary base alone would not lead to improvements in the real economy, and some took a cautious stance toward Iwata's arguments. The article describes how Iwata at times lost influence within the Bank of Japan following his dispute with Kunio Okina, but later had an opportunity to return to the political and economic stage.
Iwata's remarks about the possibility of resigning were taken up again at a gathering held by his reflationist colleagues to encourage him, and drew some critical views. Ultimately, the personnel proposal for the Bank of Japan was presented to the Diet, and Iwata was expected to be formally positioned as a candidate for deputy governor. Iwata repeatedly said that he would not rule out resigning if the 2% target was not achieved within the first 2 years after his appointment, and it was reported that this would bring a new phase to monetary policy management under the Abe administration.