TOKYO -- Economist Kazuo Ueda replaced Haruhiko Kuroda as governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Sunday, marking the start of his five-year tenure.

As the first BOJ governor from academia in postwar Japan, the 71-year-old is tasked with maintaining the momentum toward achieving the country's 2 percent inflation target through monetary policy, and charting a path toward an eventual exit as 10 years of massive easing under his predecessor to ensure both wage growth and stable inflation has exposed its negative side.

The BOJ's 32nd governor is scheduled to hold the first policy-setting meeting on April 27 and 28.

During his confirmation hearings in parliament, Ueda has expressed his intention to continue the central bank's current easing policy for the time being, noting that it is "appropriate to maintain the easing policy while exercising ingenuity."