Japan finance minister says he was 'out of the loop' on BOJ gov nomination

TOKYO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said that the government is set to pick deputy Bank of Japan Governor Masayoshi Amamiya as new central bank governor to take over incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda whose five-year term ends in April.

Speaking to reporters, Suzuki said he was aware of media report overnight about the likely nomination of Amamiya but that he has not heard it firsthand.

"It's really true that I have not heard of it," Suzuki said. "I believe the prime minister's office will decide on the matter. I guess I was out of the loop."

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)