JAPAN, 5 Oct: Japan’s Fumio Kishida was officially elected as Japan’s 100th prime minister on Monday (October 4) after winning a majority of votes in both houses of parliament. The new cabinet members under Kishida, who succeeds Yoshihide Suga, are due to be announced later in the day.
Kishida, a former foreign minister with an image as a low-key consensus builder, was chosen last week to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), beating three other contenders to take the post and ultimately, based on the party’s majority in parliament, the premiership.
Later on Monday, Kishida is set to unveil a cabinet featuring allies of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, so ensuring the influence of the latter’s conservative base. Of the 20 posts, 13 will be filled by people with no prior cabinet experience, in line with Kishida’s pledge to give chances to new people, but the majority of heavyweight jobs will go to allies of Abe, or outgoing finance minister Taro Aso.
As the face of the party, the 64-year-old will also lead it through a general election in the face of headwinds generated by criticism of outgoing prime minister Yoshihide Suga’s handling of the pandemic that have battered the LDP’s support ratings. Public broadcaster NHK reported that Kishida plans to call the election for the lower House of Parliament on October 31.
-Reuters
