BOJ nominee: Rapid market moves may hurt economy

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TOKYO, April 8 (Reuters) - Hiroshi Watanabe, the government's nominee for Bank of Japan deputy governor, said on Tuesday that rapid moves in financial markets could further slow Japan's economy.

Downside risks to the global economy are increasing, Watanabe added at a parliamentary hearing ahead of a vote likely on Wednesday.

Watanabe is a former vice finance minister for international affairs.

The main opposition Democratic Party and allies that control parliament's upper house have already vetoed two former finance ministry bureaucrats for top BOJ positions on grounds that their careers in the finance ministry could threaten the BOJ's independence in monetary policy. (Reporting by Yoko Nishikawa and Hideyuki Sano)