KOCHI, Japan (Kyodo) -- Yuko Kawai, vice president of the Bank of Kochi, will be promoted to the top post, becoming the first woman to lead a regional bank in Japan, the western Japan-based lender said Thursday.

Kawai, 60, will become president following a shareholders' meeting in late June. She brings experience from a foreign-owned bank and as head of the Bank of Japan's Kochi branch.

A graduate of Kyoto University, Kawai joined the BOJ in March 2003 and served as the central bank's general manager for Europe and chief representative in London. She later worked at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. before joining the Bank of Kochi.

Kawai, who became vice president of the Bank of Kochi in July 2023, helped establish a business alliance with Mercari Inc., a Japanese flea market app operator.

At a press conference, Kawai said she hopes to make use of the bank's close relationships with customers to help address their needs.

Katsuhiko Umiji, 64, the bank's outgoing president who will become chairman, expressed hope that Kawai will draw on her expertise in the digital field.

Established in 1930, the Bank of Kochi has 72 branches in Kochi Prefecture and elsewhere.