Kishida formally re-elected prime minister of Japan

Tokyo, Nov 10 (EFE).- Fumio Kishida was formally re-elected prime minister of Japan on Wednesday in a special parliamentary session following the victory of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the general election on Oct. 31.

Kishida’s appointment was ratified with a majority 297 votes after last month’s House of Representatives election in which the ruling coalition renewed its comfortable majority.

The LDP won 261 seats out of 465 in the lower house election, down 15, while its coalition partner Komeito won 32.

With a total of 293 parliamentary seats, the coalition revalidated its mandate and Kishida is set to announce his new Cabinet later Wednesday.

He is expected to appoint Yoshimasa Hayashi, who previously held the education and defense portfolios, as foreign minister, replacing Toshimitsu Motegi, who was recently appointed the LDP’s secretary general following the resignation of his predecessor Akira Amari.

The new mandate of the LDP will be characterized by a “new capitalism,” announced by Kishida recently and which will focus on economic growth and the redistribution of wealth.

In diplomatic terms, the Japanese leader, who served as foreign minister between 2012-2017, has affirmed his commitment to strengthening cooperation with the United States.

It is the second time that Kishida has been declared Japan’s leader in just over a month. He won his party’s support following the resignation of his predecessor, Yoshide Suga, to become prime minister on Oct. 4, just three weeks before the elections. EFE

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