Ex foreign minister to become Japan’s new PM ahead of election

A former foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, is set to become Japan’s prime minister after winning his party’s presidential election.

The contest came down to a two-way battle between Kishida and vaccination minister, Taro Kono, who he beat by 257 votes to 170.

The Liberal Democratic coalition currently holds a majority in both chambers of parliament, meaning that Kishida is almost assured of the prime ministership at the parliamentary session where it will go to a vote on Monday.

Kishida has been described as a ‘soft spoken consensus builder’ and has said he favours a stronger ties with the US and is concerned about Chinese military expansion.

Former Prime minister Yoshihide Suga stepped down after just a year in office. His popularity had plummeted due to his handling of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Japan’s next general election must be held by late November.