PM Kisihida to take on Japan’s foreign minister role until Cabinet formed

Tokyo, Nov 4, (EFE).- Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Thursday that he will also temporarily take on the role of foreign affairs minister after the victory of his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at the weekend’s general election.

Kishida, who was also foreign minister between 2012 and 2017, announced at a press conference that he will assume the role until his new Cabinet is announced, possibly in the middle of this month.

“Since I have gained the people’s mandate through the general election, I now plan to speedily implement policies” on key issues such as the pandemic and the economy, he said Thursday, according to Kyodo news.

Current foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi has been appointed secretary general and number two of the LDP, so he will have to leave the portfolio.

Motegi will replace the current secretary general and key figure of the party, Akira Amari, who at Sunday’s polls lost in his district and failed to renew his seat in the Lower House of the Diet (parliament) through the single-member constituency system.

It is the first time that a general secretary of the party – who in this case also led the electoral campaign – has not achieved majority citizen support.

Although Amari eventually secured the seat through proportional representation, he resigned on Monday. EFE

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