Masayoshi Amamiya is viewed as so essential to operations at the Bank of Japan that he¡¯s known inside the central bank as ¡°Mr. BOJ.¡±

With the shift in recent months from a blitz on deflation to a long-haul campaign that¡¯s set to outlast Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda¡¯s term, Amamiya is at the fore of managing interest rates and nudging consumer prices toward the BOJ¡¯s distant 2 percent inflation goal.

The 61-year-old could also be among contenders in early 2018, when the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe considers replacements for Kuroda, 72, and his two deputy governors.