Tokyo: Fumio Kishida who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan from 2012 to 2017, is elected as the head of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He is set to succeed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who stepped down after spending just one year in the office, as the country’s next Prime Minister.
Kishida, beat out vaccine minister Taro Kono, 257 to 170 in the race to the PMship today. Japan’s Parliament will be sitting for a special session early next month to officially select the new prime minister.
Born on July 29, 1957, at Shibya City in Tokyo, the 64 year old Kishida had lost out to Suga in last year’s poll. His biggest challenge now would be to lead his party to power in the upcoming general elections, particularly after LDP’s popular ratings fell because of hosting the Tokyo Olympics despite public opposition, and also because of its poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Kishida said after his win that he was “determined to make efforts with everyone for an open LDP and a bright future for Japan”.
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said China had taken note of the election result. “China is ready to work with Japan’s new administration to observe the principles and spirit set out in the four political documents between China and Japan, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, and move forward China-Japan ties along the right track in a sound and steady manner,” she said.
– global bihari bureau
