TOKYO - The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Monday appointed Mr Kazuhiro Masaki, an expert on monetary policy with experience in market operations, as the new head of its department that oversees the drafting of central bank policy.

The announcement comes after the BOJ’s decision last week to make its yield control policy more flexible, a move market players see as the start of a slow shift away from decades of massive monetary stimulus.

Mr Masaki, 55, was previously head of the central bank’s financial system department.

He replaces Mr Koji Nakamura, who will now be in charge of the financial system department.

The monetary affairs department is one of the most important divisions at the BOJ.

In addition to shaping monetary policy ideas, it prepares drafts of speeches for the bank’s board members, including the governor and deputy governors.

Mr Masaki was previously a senior staff member of the department and was involved in many of the BOJ’s key monetary policy shifts, including the introduction of negative interest rates and yield curve control in 2016. REUTERS