Masaaki Shirakawa
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture on September 27, 1949.
Governor, Bank of Japan since April 9, 2008; Chair of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Asian Consultative Council since October 2010, and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the BIS since January 2011; Member of the Group of Thirty since August 2009.
Mr. Shirakawa graduated from the University of Tokyo with a B.A. in Economics and was hired by the Bank of Japan in 1972; he completed his advanced training at the University of Chicago (M.A. in 1977). At the Bank of Japan, his career encompassed both monetary policy and financial stability, and he held key positions including Executive Director (2002 - 2006) where he was responsible for laying the groundwork of Japanese monetary policy decisions. He also had extensive international experience as the General Manager for the Americas and as the Advisor to the Governor for International Capital Markets.
Mr. Shirakawa left the Bank in July 2006, and he assumed Professorship at the Kyoto University School of Government until March 2008, when he rejoined the Bank.