Former foreign minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, was elected as the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Wednesday, setting him on course to become the nation’s next prime minister.
The 64-year-old top diplomat defeated popular reformer Taro Kono in a close race to succeed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who decided to step down after just a year in office.
It was the second time lucky for the experienced politician: he lost out in 2020 to Yoshihide Suga. Two female contenders, Sanae Takaichi, 60, and Seiko Noda, 61, dropped out after the first round.
Kishida’s victory is unlikely to trigger a huge shift in policies as Japan seeks to cope with an assertive China and revive an economy hit by the pandemic. He is expected to form a new cabinet and reshuffle the LDP executive in early October. Media, quoting LDP executives, reported that the lower chamber will likely be dissolved in mid-October with an election on either Nov. 7 or Nov. 14.
Kishida previously served as LDP policy chief and was foreign minister between 2012-17, during which he negotiated accords with Russia and South Korea, with whom Japan’s relations are often frosty. He has called abolishing nuclear weapons “my life’s work”, and in 2016 helped bring then-US president Barack Obama to Hiroshima on a historic visit.
Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Kishida entered politics in 1993, having previously worked at a bank as the Japanese economy boomed.
