The government taking office after Japan’s Dec. 16 election will pick the central bank’s top three jobs, a chance to reshape policy in the third-largest economy that the opposition aims to seize for unlimited stimulus. BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa, criticized by politicians for his perceived failure to reverse more than a decade of deflation, ends a five-year term on April 8. His deputies Hirohide Yamaguchi and Kiyohiko Nishimura exit in March. Shirakawa pushed back at a press briefing in Tokyo today, saying that he wants “respect for the BOJ’s independence” and that a 3 percent inflation target, advocated by ... (full story)