Statement by Kiichi Miyazawa |
| Regarding selection of a new Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Japanese nominee, Dr. Sakakibara has received support from many countries including those in Asia, but came the third at the recent informal poll. Now we are faced with the new nomination of Mr. Horst Koehler, President of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Reflecting this new development, Japan has decided to withdraw its nomination of Dr. Sakakibara with the expectation that Mr. Koehler can exercise strong leadership in the Fund based upon an international consensus. | |
| The nomination of Dr. Sakakibara reflected Japan's position that the IMF, as a truly global financial institution, should determine its Managing Director based on a candidate's ability to lead the IMF in the right direction and not on his/her country of origin. I send my sincere appreciation to the countries that expressed their support for Dr. Sakakibara. | |
| Taking this opportunity, I should like to make it clear that Japan believes the following elements are essential in reviewing the role of the IMF; | |
(i) | The IMF should be reformed so as to reflect the reality of the new global economy. Greater attention should be paid to large-scale and abrupt capital movements in conducting its surveillance and formulating its programs.|
(ii) | In the context of reforming the IMF, the distribution of quotas should be reviewed in order to better reflect changes in the global economy. |