Akira Kishida and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Mogi Liberal Democratic Party “Two Handles”
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, November 4-Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on the 4th that he will concurrently serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs before forming a new cabinet. The current Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will serve as secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party.
According to Kyodo News, the Liberal Democratic Party led by Kishida has nominated Motegi as its secretary general to replace Kam Liming, who had unexpectedly failed in the House of Representatives election and resigned.
Kishida said on the 4th: “Before the formation of the new cabinet, I will consider concurrently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.”
Japan’s House of Representatives is scheduled to hold a designated election for the prime minister on the 10th. The Liberal Democratic Party and its ruling ally, the Komeito Party, will occupy the majority.
According to Reuters, except for the post of minister, the new cabinet may not undergo major changes. A person familiar with the situation told Kyodo News that former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Lin Fangzheng is expected to become foreign minister.
The Liberal Democratic Party won the election for the House of Representatives on October 31. The seats received were better than expected before the election, but some seats were lost. The then secretary general, Gan Liming, was unexpectedly defeated in the small constituency and resigned unbearably. As a heavyweight figure in the Liberal Democratic Party, he held this “second-in-command” position for only one month.
Kishida’s concurrent appointment as foreign minister means that he will return to his old business. During the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration, Kishida was in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for four and a half years. He was Japan’s longest consecutive foreign minister since the end of World War II.