After holding the title of foreign affairs minister, Fumio Kishida has been named Japan’s next prime minister by winning leadership of the country’s ruling party.
On Monday, 64-year-old Kishida was appointed to succeed Prime Minister Yoshida Suga who stepped down after a year in office.
Sanae Takaichi, 60 and Seiko Noda, 61 were two female candidates who announced their candidacy early prior the election campaigns, but dropped out after the first round.
Being in charge of the world’s third-largest economy, Kishida’s primary mission as a PM will be to make both history and victory for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in an upcoming general election.
During the campaign, Kishida was largely seen as boring. Now, he is expected to face boarder appeal in a general election on November followed by one in an upper house election next year.
“My skill is to really listen to people,” Kishida said after securing his win. “I’m determined to make efforts with everyone for an open LDP and a bright future for Japan”.
Despite his openness and liberal reputation, Kishida has not been as direct as previous prime minister Kono on issues like same-sex marriage.
When a president, Kono stood for gay marriage and aspired to discuss it in parliament, however Kishida stated he had “not reached the point for accepting same-sex marriage.”
The victory of Fumio Kishida is unlikely to register a shift in the Asian country’s policy, which seeks to work with China to revive the economy crashed by the pandemic.
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