asia
Indian government is revamping aquaculture for a ‘blue revolution’
All governments, at different points in time, have opted for a revamp in policies geared at increasing agricultural productivity. Mostly, these have included crop yield, animal husbandry and milk production. However, rarely ever has a government formulated a specific policy keeping in mind the vast potential that the fisheries sector holds, reports Saudi Gazette.
Though the developmental journey for multiple governments has undertaken massive improvements in areas related to productivity and availability of food sources, the fisheries sector has remained untouched and neglected for long. This apathy to blue revolution has changed considerably with India’s first and biggest fisheries scheme called the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), with an outlay of Rs.20,050 crores over a period of five years on Sept. 10, 2021.
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PMMSY is designed to address critical gaps in fish production and productivity, quality control, adoption of advance technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, modernization, innovation and strengthening of value chain, traceability, establishing a powerful fisheries management framework and fishers’ welfare. While aspiring to consolidate the achievements of Blue Revolution Scheme, PMMSY envisages many new, unique and innovative scheme and vision for the sector.
Obviously, the scheme is part of the larger Blue Revolution that was undertaken by the government of India towards ensuring the growth of the aquaculture industry. Through design, India aimed at tapping the massive reserves of fish around the mainland of India as well as around islands. Additionally, the idea was to modernize the industry through new technologies and processes, which would transform the sector and double the income of the fishermen and fisherwomen involved.
With increased productivity, the assumption was that the post-harvest infrastructure would also get a solid boost with private market players also grabbing a foothold into the sector seeing its immense potential. Therefore, it is clearly not difficult to put the foot on the throttle in these areas resulting in an easy three times exports price-to-earnings ratio by the year 2022 which would lead to profits as well as food security for those families that are dependent on the livestock from these catches.
Though the fish production sector accounted for a meager 1.25% of the national economy in the year 2018-19, its share of the total agriculture production was about 8%. Over the years, especially since the Blue Revolution was embraced by the government of India, the growth rate of the sector has doubled from 5.2% to 10.8% in only four years.
Quite simply speaking, the PMMSY has been geared towards achieving five goals: (a.) doubling the income of fishermen and fisherwomen, (b.) increasing the fish production to 2.2 crore tons per annum within a period of 5 years, (c.) reducing the loss in fish production from 20 to 10%, (d.) creating 55 lakh new employment opportunities, and (e.) doubling the exports of fish to Rs.1 lakh crores in next 5 years.
At the same time, the focus was on ensuring the development of the sector through sustainable means without infringing upon the environmental processes of the day. Therefore, the scheme has focused on developing the sector by engaging in sustainable, responsible, inclusive and equitable practices alone. One of the biggest factors towards achieving that has been the up-gradation of fishing vessels and breeding centers, putting in place bio-toilets and aqua-parks, developing aquaculture start-ups and coastal fishing villages.
Special thrust will be given for employment generation activities such as seaweed and ornamental fish cultivation. It emphasizes on interventions for quality brood, seed & feed and species diversification.
Singular attention will be given on aquaculture in saline/alkaline areas, Sagar Mitras, FFPOs/Cs, Nucleus Breeding Centers, fisheries and aquaculture start-ups, incubators, integrated aqua parks, integrated coastal fishing villages development, aquatic laboratories network and extension services, traceability, certification and accreditation, RAS, Biofloc & Cage Culture, e-trading/marketing networks, fisheries management plans, etc.
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With the sudden interest amongst the private players and government, the Research & Development in Aquaculture and Marine Biotechnology has begun attempting to explore the limitless possibilities of the fisheries sector. More than 122 deep-sea fishing vessels have been upgraded with 2755 bio-toilets being installed. On top of the same, about 53,000 rafts and monolines have already been disbursed to increase seaweed cultivation, which in turn is the most sustainable way of ensuring the survival of fish.
But the growth in volume of production need not mean the upliftment of those involved in the sector, and to ensure the same, the government of India has focused on the welfare of people associated with the sector along with increasing production. With the constant expansion in the Kisan Credit facilities over the last few years, the line of credit available to these fisher folk has quadrupled. Already, about 8 lakh individuals have benefited from the scheme with proposals worth Rs.3,000 crores from 34 states/UTs already approved until last month.
With increased production, the scheme has laid down a solid groundwork for development of the sector to ensure that the income of farmers increases along with the share of Indian aquaculture in the global market. It is only a matter of time that the hard work and vision translates to a massive production growth.
Japan’s former princess leaves for US with commoner husband
A Japanese princess who gave up the throne to marry her commoner college sweetheart left for New York on Sunday, as the couple pursued happiness as newlyweds and left behind a nation that has criticized their romance.
The departure of Mako Komuro, the former Princess Mako, and Kei Komuro, both 30, as they boarded their plane amid a flurry of camera flashes at Haneda airport in Tokyo was carried live by major Japanese broadcasters.
Read: Malala Yousafzai announces her marriage on Twitter
Kei Komuro, a graduate of Fordham University law school, has a job at a New York law firm. He has yet to pass his bar exam, another piece of news that local media have used to attack him, although it is common to pass after multiple attempts.
“I love Mako,” he told reporters last month after registering their marriage in Tokyo. They did so without a wedding banquet or any of the other usual celebratory rituals.
“I want to live the only life I have with the person I love,” he said.
Although Japan appears modern in many ways, values about family relations and the status of women remain somewhat antiquated, rooted in feudal practices.
Such views were accentuated in the public’s reaction to the marriage. Some Japanese feel they have a say in such matters because taxpayer money supports the imperial family system.
Other princesses have married commoners and left the palace. But Mako is the first to have drawn such a public outcry, including a frenzied reaction on social media and in local tabloids.
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Speculation ranged from whether the couple could afford to live in Manhattan to how much money Kei Komuro would earn and if the former princess would end up financially supporting her husband.
Mako is the niece of Emperor Naruhito, who also married a commoner, Masako. Masako often suffered mentally in the cloistered, regulated life of the imperial family. The negative media coverage surrounding Mako’s marriage gave her what palace doctors described last month as a form of traumatic stress disorder.
Former Emperor Akihito, the father of the current emperor, was the first member of the imperial family to marry a commoner. His father was the emperor under whom Japan fought and lost in World War II.
The family holds no political power but serves as a symbol of the nation, attending ceremonial events and visiting disaster zones, and remains relatively popular.
Only males inherit the Chrysanthemum Thone. Mako is the daughter of the emperor’s younger brother, and her 15-year-old brother is expected to eventually be emperor.
Complicating the former princess’s marriage, announced in 2017, was a financial dispute involving Kei Komuro’s mother. That issue was recently settled, according to Kyodo news service.
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When Kei Komuro returned from the U.S. in September, the couple was reunited for the first time in three years. They met while attending Tokyo’s International Christian University a decade ago.
In announcing their marriage, the former princess, a museum curator, made her choice clear.
“He is someone I cannot do without,” she said. “Marriage is that decision needed for us to live on, staying true to our hearts.”
26 left-wing Naxalite rebels gunned down in India
As many as 26 left-wing Naxalite rebels were gunned down by police in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Saturday, officials said.
Four cops also sustained injuries in the gunfight with the left-wing rebels at Korchi in the state's Gadchiroli district, some 900km from capital Mumbai.
Acting on a tip-off, a 60-member police team, including commandos, launched a combing operation in the dense forests of Mardintola. Seeing themselves virtually surrounded, the rebels fired at the cops.
"Our men retaliated. We have recovered the bodies of 26 naxals so far from the forest," district police chief Ankit Goyal told the local media.
"Efforts are on to identify the rebels. The injured cops have been airlifted to a hospital," the officer added.
The Naxalite rebels, also known as Maoists, are active in at least seven Indian states. They claim to be fighting for the rights of the poor and the landless in the country.
These rebels routinely target Indian security forces. In one of the deadliest ever attacks, they killed 74 policemen in an ambush in the central state of Chattisgarh in 2010.
77.8% efficacy, robust antibody response: 5 points from Lancet's new study on Covaxin
The Lancet peer-review has now corroborated Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's efficacy analysis regarding Covaxin, its coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine, and confirmed that the shot demonstrates 77.8 per cent efficacy against patients symptomatic with the infectious disease, reports the Hindustan Times.
1 . In its new study, The Lancet noted that the Covid-19 vaccine made by Bharat Biotech is ‘highly efficacious’ and presents no safety concern, also inducing a “robust antibody response” two weeks after two doses of the shot are administered.
2. The Lancet journal, although it corroborated Bharat Biotech's efficacy analysis for Covaxin, also noted that more research is needed to understand more about Covaxin's long-term safety and effectiveness, as well as protection against hospitalisation.
Read:Anti-Covid pill likely to get approved in India soon, DCGI reviewing data
3. Further research is also needed to effectively study Covaxin's effect on deterring Covid-19 deaths, and also its ability to fend off the Delta variant and other variants of concern of the coronavirus.
4. Only 684 suspected Covid-19 cases were identified at least 14 days after the second dose, among the total 24,419 participants who received both doses of the vaccine.
5. Of the confirmed cases, nine did not meet the case definition, being either seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 at baseline or only having one symptom, and thus 130 cases were included in the efficacy analysis. 24 (0.3 per cent) cases occurred among 8471 participants in the vaccine group and 106 (1.2 per cent) among 8502 participants in the placebo group, resulting in an estimated vaccine efficacy of 77.8 per cent.
Notably, Covaxin was recently granted the much-coveted emergency use authorisation (EUA) by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the shot has already been cleared for use in as many as 17 nations. With the recent green signal from the global health body, Covaxin has now joined a shortlist of anti-Covid vaccines approved by WHO – which include the shots manufactured by AstraZeneca/Oxford, Johnson&Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.
While approving Covaxin, WHO noted that this vaccine is “extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements”.
Read: Pfizer asks FDA to OK COVID-19 booster shots for all adults
Bharat Biotech had informed back in July that the safety and efficacy analysis data from the Phase-III clinical trials of Covaxin had shown an efficacy rate of 77.8 per cent against mild, moderate, and severe instances of Covid-19. Against severe symptomatic cases of Covid-19, on the other hand, Covaxin was found to be 93.4 per cent effective, the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm had said.
The Phase III trials for Covaxin were conducted on 25,798 subjects – aged between 18 to 98 years – across 25 sites in India.
Anti-Covid pill likely to get approved in India soon, DCGI reviewing data
The Drugs Controller General of India is reviewing the clinical data of molnupiravir, the world's first anti-Covid pill approved in the United Kingdom, for the treatment of Covid-19 in adults in India. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries said it is all set to introduce Merck Sharp Dohme (MSD) and Ridgeback's molnupiravir under the brand name Molxvir.
Sun Pharma is one of the companies in India with which Merck entered into voluntary licensing agreements, reports the Hindustan Times.
Read:77.8% efficacy, robust antibody response: 5 points from Lancet's new study on Covaxin
"The recent authorisation of molnupiravir, licensed from MSD and Ridgeback, by the UK regulator is a positive step. In line with our consistent efforts to accelerate access to new drugs for COVID-19 treatment, we are gearing up to make Molxvir available to patients and healthcare providers across India at an economical price post-approval by DCGI," Sun Pharma India Business CEO Kirti Ganorkar said in a statement.
The United States is also going through the data of molnupiravir.
Who can take this pill? Adults who are at risk of Covid can take this pill to avoid severe symptoms or hospitalisation. However, experts have warned that anti-Covid pills are not alternatives to vaccines. The pill can be taken within the first few days of Covid symptoms appearing.
Read: Pfizer asks FDA to OK COVID-19 booster shots for all adults
Molnupiravir, as a small molecule, does not require cold storage like messenger RNA vaccines. In the Phase 3 trial by Merck, Molnupiravir significantly reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by around 50 per cent in a planned interim analysis of the MOVe-OUT trial in at risk, non-hospitalised adult patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19.
Based on the participants with available viral sequencing data (around 40 per cent of participants), molnupiravir demonstrated consistent efficacy across viral variants like Gamma, Delta and Mu.
Heavy rains in southern India kill 14 people, flood Chennai
At least 14 people have died in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu during days of heavy rains, officials said Thursday.
Several districts in the state are on high alert, bracing for more torrents as a depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal was set to cross northern Tamil Nadu on Thursday evening. The Indian Meteorological Department warned of intense rains in isolated places.
Read:9 Hindu devotees die in India road crash
The heavy rains first struck over the weekend, hitting the capital, Chennai. Photos and videos from the city showed residents wading through knee-deep waters and vehicles nearly submerged in the heavily flooded roads.
Two people died in the last 24 hours, said N Subbaiyan, the director of the state’s disaster management, adding that the other 12 were killed over the past few days.
At least 800 huts have been destroyed this past week by the rains, said Kumar Jayant of the state's revenue department.
Multiple teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed to help local authorities with rescue efforts.
In Chennai, which is among the worst hit, officials have evacuated hundreds of people from vulnerable areas. Authorities have also set up over 100 relief centers and distributed free food, local media reported.
Flights into Chennai have been suspended.
The rains this week are among the heaviest to hit the city since 2015.
Experts have warned that more heavy rains can trigger further flooding and devastation.
Read: 10 dead in India Covid hospital fire
“The public should not go out,” Greater Chennai Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi told New Delhi Television on Wednesday. He said authorities had managed to drain the majority of the floodwaters, but cautioned that low-lying areas could once again get inundated.
Rains at this time in Tamil Nadu are not unusual, but experts have warned that climate change has exacerbated the problem, making the downpours more intense and frequent.
Last month, flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains killed at least 28 people in neighboring Kerala state.
9 Hindu devotees die in India road crash
As many as nine Hindu devotees returning home on a three-wheeler after performing a religious ritual died after a speeding truck crashed into their vehicle in the Indian state of Assam, bordering Bangladesh, Thursday.
The accident occurred on national highway number 8 in the Baithakhal area of Assam's Karimganj district.
Police said that the truck was travelling at a high speed and its driver lost control of the vehicle, leading to the accident. "Nine of the 10 Hindu devotees on the auto died in the impact of the crash," a police official said.
Read: 3 killed in Gazipur road accident
Assam's chief minister Himanta Biswa Sharma took to social media to offer his condolences to the bereaved families.
"I deeply mourn the tragic deaths of nine persons in an accident at Baitakhal, Patharkhandi...," he tweeted. "Assam police are trying to trace the driver of the truck who fled the scene..."
The police officer also said that "efforts are on to nab the truck driver in the hit-and-run case". "Our teams are scanning the footage of CCTV cameras in the area," he added.
Road accidents are very common in India, with one taking place every four minutes. These accidents are often blamed on poor roads, rash driving and scant regard for traffic laws.
The Indian government's implementation of stricter traffic laws in recent years have failed to rein in accidents, which claim over 100,000 lives every year.
US joins India-led International Solar Alliance as member country
The United States on Wednesday became the 101st member country of the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA), as US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry signed the ISA framework agreement to catalyse global energy transition through a solar-led approach.
Kerry described the US membership as a major step towards the rapid deployment of solar power, as he formally signed the framework agreement at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow reported The Economic Times.
"It has long been coming, and we are happy to join the International Solar Alliance, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the lead in making," said Kerry.
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"We worked out the details and this is a process we are pleased to be a part of. This will be an important contribution to more rapid deployment of solar globally. It will be particularly important for developing countries,” he said.
Union Minister for Environment Bhupender Yadav welcomed the US as the 101st member of the ISA, saying this move will strengthen the solar alliance and propel future action on providing a clean source of energy to the world.
"Happy that now USA is formally a part of International Solar Alliance, a visionary initiative launched by PM Shri @narendramodi Ji in 2015 at Paris COP. The number of countries who are now part of @isolaralliance is now 101,” the minister later tweeted.
The ISA framework, first circulated for countries to support in 2016, emphasises delivering global relevance and local benefit to all countries through collaborations.
The ISA's key interventions focus on readiness and enabling activities, risk mitigation and innovative financing instruments to facilitate the promotion and deployment of solar technologies in target markets.
"The US' endorsement of ISA's framework and approach is an heartening development, especially as our 101st member nation, which is a significant milestone in itself, demonstrating that nations across the world are recognising the economic and climate mitigating value of solar, as well as this energy source's potential as a catalyst for global energy transition,” said Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General of the ISA.
Also read: India At COP26 Says Its Solar Energy Capacity Increased 17 Times In 7 Years
"We are now even more committed to translating this confidence into tangible projects and developments on the ground, accelerating the momentum of solar adoption that has been built so far. We hope remaining nations and economies will follow suit, and align with us to achieve swift, affordable and effective climate action, while also achieving their respective economic growth and long-term development priorities,” he said.
The alliance highlights how the approach and methods detailed in the ISA framework have already delivered results, with ISA building a solar project pipeline of nearly 5 GW installed capacity.
The approach detailed in the framework is designed to culminate in a vision for interconnected global grids, which was formalised and jointly launched as the ‘Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid' (GGI-OSOWOG), during the World Leaders Summit of the COP26 in Glasgow last week by the UK Presidency of COP26 and India Presidency of ISA.
Earlier at COP26, the United States also joined the Steering Committee of the GGI-OSOWOG comprising five members – US, Australia, France, UK, and India — and endorsed the One Sun Declaration along with 80 countries.
The launch of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Francois Hollande, former President of France, in November 2015 – at the 21st session of United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris, France.
Allow unimpeded aid into Afghanistan, say NSAs in Delhi Declaration
A strong focus on delivering Afghanistan from terrorism, a truly inclusive government that represented the will of the people and unimpeded humanitarian assistance formed the core of the "complete consensus" that India’s regional NSA-level conference arrived at Wednesday in the form of a Delhi Declaration.
The Declaration emphasised that Afghanistan’s territory shouldn’t be used for "sheltering, training, planning or financing" any terrorist act while reiterating support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan reported Times of India.
With several countries sharing concerns about terrorist groups active in Afghanistan and their benefactors, it also stressed respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and also non-interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs.
Also read: NSAs’ meeting on Afghanistan today, focus on regional security
Afghanistan conference: India looks to forge consensus on terror, legitimacy, aid
NSA Ajit Doval set the tone for India’s conference on Afghanistan with discussions Tuesday on enhanced terror threat from the country, and also the looming humanitarian crisis it's facing, with his Tajikistan and Uzbekistan counterparts. Both central Asian countries share a border with Afghanistan
The conference chaired by NSA Ajit Doval saw the participants discussing the evolving security situation in Afghanistan and its regional and global implications while calling for efforts to ensure Afghanistan didn’t turn into a safe haven for global terrorism. Official sources said participating countries acknowledged India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism perpetrated by Pakistan based groups who are also active in Afghanistan.
China and Pakistan will be missing when the national security chiefs of seven key regional countries gather here on Wednesday for a security dialogue on Afghanistan. The day-long event, the first being hosted by India, will focus on terrorism and related security challenges and uncertainties
According to sources, the participants also stressed that no one should boycott the NSA dialogue process due to the "bilateral agenda". Both China and Pakistan had turned down India's invite to the conference. The NSAs also called on PM Narendra Modi and were said to have had a substantive exchange with him as PM shared India's perspective on Afghanistan.
NEW DELHI: The NSA conference on Afghanistan on Wednesday saw India and Russia joining others in underlining the importance of ensuring the rights of women, children and national minorities in Afghanistan. They condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and underscored that the
Also read: Saarc FMs' meet on UN assembly sidelines called off over Afghanistan
Afghanistan soil shouldn’t be used to target others: India & Russia
"The sides paid special attention to the current political situation in Afghanistan and threats arising from terrorism, radicalisation and drug trafficking as well as the need for humanitarian assistance’’ said the Declaration issued shortly after the conference that saw participation by 7 countries, including Russia and Iran, apart from India. The conference is seen as an important step by India to underline its role in regional efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan and to remain relevant despite the Kabul takeover by a traditionally inimical Taliban. Russia, as Doval said in his opening remarks, was the initiator of the idea for a conference.
According to the Declaration, the countries stressed the necessity of forming an open and truly inclusive government that represented the will of all the people of Afghanistan and had representation from all sections of their society, including major "ethnopolitical forces’’ in the country.
"Inclusion of all sections of the society in the administrative and political structure is imperative for the successful national reconciliation process in the country,’’ said the participating countries. There was an understanding that it was important for the Taliban to address this issue before the international community could consider recognising their government.
On terrorism, the Declaration said, they condemned in the strongest terms all terrorist activities and reaffirmed their firm commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including its financing, the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and countering radicalization, to ensure that Afghanistan would never become a safe haven for global terrorism. They also called for collective cooperation against the menace of radicalisation, extremism, separatism and drug trafficking in the region.
The conference emphasised that the fundamental rights of women, children and minority communities are not violated and expressed concern over the deteriorating socio-economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan while underlining the need to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Afghans.
“Reiterated that humanitarian assistance should be provided in an unimpeded, direct and assured manner to Afghanistan and that the assistance is distributed within the country in a non-discriminatory manner across all sections of the Afghan society,’’ said the Declaration. This is significant as India’s proposal for transporting 50,000 MT wheat to Afghanistan via Pakistan is still pending with Islamabad. "The NSAs noted the need to provide humanitarian assistance and emphasized that the land and air routes should be made available and no one should impede the process," said a source.
Recalling the relevant UN resolutions on Afghanistan, the participants noted that the UN had a central role to play in Afghanistan and that its continued presence in the country must be preserved.
They also expressed deep concern over the suffering of the people of Afghanistan arising from the security situation in Afghanistan and condemned the terrorist attacks in Kunduz, Kandahar and Kabul.
Official sources said the meeting exceeded India's expectations as they highlighted that this was the only dialogue at the level of NSAs and that there was complete unanimity on the need to continue this process and have regular consultations.
Kishida reelected Japan's PM in parliamentary vote
Fumio Kishida was reelected as Japan’s prime minister on Wednesday after his governing party scored a major victory in key parliamentary elections.
Elected just over a month ago by parliament, Kishida called a quick election in which his governing party secured 261 seats in the 465-member lower house — the more powerful of Japan’s two-chamber legislature — enough to maintain a free hand in pushing legislation through parliament.
The Oct. 31 victory increases his grip on power and is seen as a mandate from voters for his weeks-old government to tackle the pandemic-battered economy, virus measures and other challenges. Kishida said he saw the results as a signal that voters chose stability over change.
Later Wednesday, he will form his second Cabinet by keeping all but one of the ministers he appointed when he took office on Oct. 4, and then map out his economic measures and other key policies at a news conference.
Read: Japan votes in national election, 1st key test for Kishida
Kishida had been chosen by the Liberal Democrats as a safe, conservative choice a month ago. They had feared heavy election losses if the unpopular Yoshihide Suga had stayed in power. Suga resigned after only a year in office as his popularity plunged over criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his insistence on holding the Tokyo Olympics despite concerns of a virus surge.
The better-than-expected election results may give Kishida’s government more power and time to work on campaign promises, including COVID-19 control, economic revitalization and strengthening Japan’s defense capability.
Kishida’s grip on power also may be strengthened by his Cabinet changes.
A key policy expert from his party faction, former Education Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, will be the new Foreign Minister, while former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will shift to the governing party’s No. 2 post.
Motegi voted for Kishida in the party leadership race and will replace party heavyweight Akira Amari, who resigned from the post over his unimpressive election outcome due to his past bribery scandal.
Though many of Kishida’s ministers are first-timers, key posts went to those from influential and party wings, including those led by ultra-conservative former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former Finance Minister Taro Aso.
Kishida promises to create a reinforcing cycle of growth and improved economic distribution to raise incomes under his “new capitalism” economic policy.
Kishida’s immediate post-election task is to compile a major economic stimulus package of about 30 trillion yen ($265 billion) that includes cash payouts, to be announced next week. He also aims to pass an extra budget by the end of this year to fund the projects.
Read:Japan's ruling party loses 1 of 2 by-elections in blow to PM Kishida
At a government meeting Tuesday, Kishida renewed his pledge to create a positive cycle of growth-distribution by bolstering investment and income.
Kishida is also expected to outline later this week his pandemic measures ahead of another possible surge in cases, which could affect his support ratings.
As a former foreign minister, Kishida will continue to prioritize the Japan-U.S. security alliance and promote a vision of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” with other democracies, including Quad dialogue members the U.S., Australia and India.
Kishida has stressed the importance of a stronger military amid worries over China’s growing power and influence and North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats.
He has opposed changes to a law that requires married couples to adopt a single surname, which forces most women to abandon their maiden names. The Liberal Democrats are widely seen as opposed to gender equality and diversity.