Japan's parliament formally elects Fumio Kishida prime minister
Japan's parliament elected Fumio Kishida, a former foreign minister, as the country's 100th prime minister on Monday, soon after his predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, resigned along with his Cabinet. Kishida will be formally sworn in later Monday, and he is expected to retain two Cabinet ministers, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, and replace the other 18. Most of the new Cabinet ministers will reportedly be from factions that supported Kishida when he won the leadership race for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party last week.
Kishida's first priorities will be to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control and boost the LDP's population before parliamentary elections in mid-November. A 64-year-old third-generation politician, Kishida "used to be known as a dovish moderate but turned hawkish apparently to win over influential conservatives in the party," The Associated Press reports. "He is firmly entrenched in the conservative establishment and his victory in the party election was a choice for continuity and stability over change."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Exploring ancient forests on three continentsThe Week Recommends Reconnecting with historic nature across the world
-
How oil tankers have been weaponisedThe Explainer The seizure of a Russian tanker in the Atlantic last week has drawn attention to the country’s clandestine shipping network
-
The rise of the spymaster: a ‘tectonic shift’ in Ukraine’s politicsIn the Spotlight President Zelenskyy’s new chief of staff, former head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, is widely viewed as a potential successor
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
