Ex-BOJ Gov. Matsushita Dies at Age of 92

July 25, 2018

Tokyo- Former Bank of Japan Governor Yasuo Matsushita, who strived to save the country from a financial crisis in the late 1990s, died of old age on Friday, sources in the BOJ and the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. He was 92.

Born in the western Japan prefecture of Hyogo in 1926, Matsushita entered the MOF in 1950 after graduating from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Law in the same year.

He worked in mainstream sections at the ministry, serving as head of the finance minister's secretariat, director-general of the Budget Bureau and vice finance minister.

After leaving the ministry, Matsushita became president of Taiyo Kobe Bank and worked to realize its merger with Mitsui Bank to create Mitsui Taiyo Kobe Bank in 1990. He served as chairman of Mitsui Taiyo Kobe Bank, a now-defunct institution.

Matsushita became BOJ governor in December 1994, when Japan was struggling in the wake of the collapse of its speculation-driven bubble economy, and promoted a low interest rate policy to help the nation climb out of the doldrums.

In November 1997, the Matsushita-led BOJ launched "tokuyu" special loans to cope with a credit crisis resulting from the bankruptcies of such major financial institutions as Hokkaido Takushoku Bank and Yamaichi Securities Co.

After a senior BOJ official was arrested in March 1998 over a wining-and-dining scandal, however, Matsushita resigned from the top BOJ post later that month, before the expiration of his five-year term, to take responsibility for the incident. Jiji Press