Japan looks set to finally fill an embarrassing vacancy at its central bank after the opposition signalled its support Tuesday for the government's third candidate for governor, deputy Masaaki Shirakawa. The apparent breakthrough in the political stalemate came hours after the Bank of Japan was forced to start its first interest rate meeting since the post fell vacant last month for the first time in eight decades. A panel of opposition lawmakers backed Shirakawa for the post, Jiji Press and other media reported, paving the way for his approval by parliament on Wednesday. Tokyo is scrambling to end the leadership vacuum to avoid sending an acting chief to a meeting of finance leaders from the Group of Seven rich nations in Washington on Friday when global market turmoil will top the agenda. “Japan is going to heave a sigh of relief as it can finally appoint a governor just in time for the G7 meeting,” said Yasuo Goto, senior analyst at Mitsubishi Research Institute. __
