BoJ governor nomination seen delayed to April

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TOKYO, Mar 20 (Reuters): The nomination of a new Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor may be delayed until April as parliament will be preoccupied with tax measures until then, media said Thursday, blaming political parties for the vacuum at the central bank.
The BoJ is without a proper governor for the first time in 80 years as the opposition-led upper house of parliament voted down two candidates nominated by the government before Toshihiko Fukui's final day in office Wednesday.
Newly appointed Deputy Governor Masaaki Shirakawa is acting governor until the government and opposition can agree on a successor.
The daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the government would want to have a new governor at the central bank by early April, before its next policy-setting meeting on April 8-9 and a Group of Seven (G7) meeting expected around April 12.
Financial daily Nikkei reported that a senior government official suggested the government would probably put forward a new candidate for the job in April.
"For the time being, we have to give our priority to tax bills," the Nikkei quoted the official as saying, referring to tax measures that the government wants to renew before they expire on March 31, including a gasoline levy.