Masaaki Shirakawa served nearly four decades at the Bank of Japan. He joined the institution as a graduate trainee in 1972, and remained at the central bank, holding increasingly senior positions, until 2006. In 2008, amid the global financial crisis, he was appointed acting BoJ governor, and then governor, remaining in office until 2013.
Shirakawa worked across a range of functions at the Bank of Japan, including monetary policy, financial markets, payment systems and financial supervision