Japan’s government will make two appointments to the central bank’s nine-member board in coming weeks, giving the administration scope to affect monetary policymaking as politicians press for greater stimulus. A group of lawmakers yesterday told ruling-party policy chief Seiji Maehara the replacements should favor doubling the Bank of Japan’s inflation target and stepping up asset purchases. The five-year terms of board members Seiji Nakamura, 69, and Hidetoshi Kamezaki, 68, former executives in the shipping and trading-company industries, conclude April 4. The picks may offer clues of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s ... (full story)