Japan: Fumio Kishida set to take office as prime minister

Tokyo, Oct 04: Japan's incomingPrime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to formally take office on Monday following a special parliamentary session.

Kishida, a former foreign minister seen as a consensus builder, was picked last week to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

He will take office as premier after a parliamentary vote, which is being considered as a formality as the LDP has a majority of seats in the legislature.

Kishida, who will become Japan's 100th prime minister since the country adopted a Cabinet system in 1885, succeeds Yoshihide Suga, who did not run for reelection as Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader.

Suga's popularity plummeted following sharp criticism of his pandemic management.

What will Kishida do as leader?

Kishida says he wants to continue the economic reforms, known as "Abenomics," initiated by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, focusing on expansionary monetary and fiscal policies.

He also wants to put together a massive stimulus package worth about 30 trillion yen (€231 billion, $269 billion) by the end of the year to help Japanese businesses hit by the economic damage wrought by the COVID pandemic.

He promised a shift away from the neoliberalism of the past two decades and announced a "new Japanese capitalism."

He also plans to put in place measures to boost people's incomes by making changes to tax laws.

He has plans to protect small and medium-sized enterprises from the market power.

Source: DW