Fumio Kishida Set To Become Japan’s Next PM

Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida,64, is set to take over as Japan’s  Prime Minister from  Yoshihide Suga following the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected him as its leader. Suga, 72, has resigned after successfully organising the Tokyo Olympics amid  Covid 19 pandemic defying public opinion. Kishida won 257 votes in a runoff on Wednesday, September 29  to defeat Taro Kono, a popular vaccines minister who was previously defence and foreign minister. Results showed Kishida had more support from party heavyweights who apparently chose stability over change advocated by Kono, who is known as a maverick politician. Kono, 58, polled 170 votes. ALJAZEERA  says Japan under Kishida is unlikely to see a major foreign policy change. Japan worried about assertive China in its neighbourhood will prioritize reviving the economy impacted adversely by the pandemic. He like his predecessors will remain dedicated to boost Japan’s defence sector and strengthen security ties with the United States and other partners including the Quad grouping comprising   Japan, the United States, Australia and India ‘’while preserving vital economic ties with China. Parliament is set to meet next Monday to elect  Kishida as the new PM. The Japan News. com says Fumio Kishida is a bookworm and a miso soup lover as well as a skilled politician. His first and foremost dating task will be to resolve the economic stagnation before anything else. Japan still under a state of emergency is now grappling with its worst-ever Covid wave. The country has more than 1.5 million virus cases. Vaccination drive however is not as appreciable as it should be. Kishida, who was earlier LDP’s policymaker and was foreign minister for five years from 2012, had negotiated accords with Russia and South Korea and voiced concern over human rights violations by PRC. Edited by @chakravartypk