TOKYO, April 09, SPA -- Japanese lawmakers endorsed acting Bank of Japan chief Masaaki Shirakawa as its new governorWednesday, ending a power vacuum at the central bank's helmby approving the government's third candidate for the job, the Associated Press reported. In the latest balloting, shown live on the Internet, theUpper House approved Shirakawa to take the bankgovernorship 231-7. It voted down nominee Hiroshi Watanabe 121-115 as one of two deputy governors.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/544523