The Japanese parliament has designated Fumio Kishida as prime minister. The new leader is expected to announce a government that includes outgoing government members and new faces. Kishida, a descendant of a political family from Hiroshima, last week beat popular vaccination campaign leader, Taro Kono, to become leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In parliament, the ruling coalition of the PLD has a large majority. Kishida said he was ready for the high office: “I think it will be a fresh start in the true sense,” he told reporters. “I want to face the challenges with determination and firm determination for the future”.
Kishida is seen as a reliable figure, supported by his own faction within the PLD and is not believed to significantly change the policies of the current government. His election came after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who resigned on Monday morning, announced that he would no longer aspire to be the leader of the PLD after just one year in office. Kishida is expected to present his new government in the afternoon. According to local media, several important portfolios would remain in the hands of their current occupants. Among them could be the Foreign Minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, and the Minister of Defense, Nobuo Kishi. Kishida, 64, wants to strengthen ties with his US ally, and has shown concern over China’s military expansion, while domestically he has promised massive economic stimuli for recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic and correct income inequalities. The new prime minister will take office after a ceremony in the presence of the emperor, Naruhito.
Kishida’s most urgent task will be the management of the pandemic: his executive will have to balance the lifting of restrictions with the prevention of new outbreaks, at a time when the country’s vaccination campaign sees about 60% of the population fully vaccinated against Covid. -19. Several new faces are expected in the executive led by Fumio Kishida, according to what leaked by the Japanese media and as promised by himself in the race for the leadership of the LDP, even if some key positions will remain in the hands of the allies of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the outgoing Finance Minister, Taro Aso: confirmation is given to the Foreign Ministry of Toshimitsu Motegi, and to the Defense of Nobuo Kishi, Abe’s brother, while the Finance Ministry should go to Aso’s brother-in-law, Shunichi Suzuki. Kishida will also have the task of leading the ruling party in the next elections, scheduled for next October 31st according to reports from the Nikkei, the first after the long “reign” of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who resigned last year for health reasons. and followed by the executive led by Yoshihide Suga, who remained in office for only one year and the target of strong controversy for the management of the Covid-19 pandemic.