Japan
Japan to work for development and stability in Bangladesh: Ambassador
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki has said Japan will keep working towards improving regional connectivity through infrastructure projects in the country.
At the same time Tokyo will support Dhaka’s efforts at development and the stability, the ambassador said in a message marking two years as his country’s envoy in Bangladesh on Tuesday.
"Japan will promote practical cooperation with Bangladesh to realize the vision of "Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)" for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region," he said.
Terming Japan the largest development partner of Bangladesh, the envoy said large-scale infrastructure projects that symbolize the country’s rapid economic growth are steadily underway.
The flagship projects are Dhaka Metro, expansion of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Jamuna Railway Bridge, and Matarbari Deep Sea Port.
A trial run of Dhaka Metro Line 6 began in August, which is expected to open by the end of 2022.
"At the same time, we will redouble our efforts to improve the investment climate for Japanese companies as they expand their investment and their business. We will continue to address customs clearance, overseas remittance, import transaction settlement, and taxation challenges," said the ambassador.
Read: Japan-Bangladesh focusing on infrastructure, business ties: Ito Naoki
Resolving the issue of the Rohingya refugees is also crucial from the perspective of realizing FOIP, he said.
"The recent situation in Myanmar since the coup last February has made the repatriation of refugees more difficult," said the envoy.
As the crisis is protracted, he said, it is urgent to improve the condition of refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, including education, skill training, and livelihood.
The envoy said they welcome the MoU recently signed between the government of Bangladesh and UN refugee agency to cooperate in the relocation plan of the refugees to Bashan Char Island.
"Japan will work with the international community for humanitarian assistance and the repatriation of the displaced people," Naoki said.
Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations next year Japan’s new Prime Minister Kishida Fumio wrote a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stating that he would strive to deepen cooperation between the two countries.
Japan will work "vigorously" to deepen understanding of Japan further, expand people-to-people exchange and promote Japanese culture in Bangladesh, by holding the anniversary events in 2022, said the envoy.
For the sake of the safety and security of Japanese people living in Bangladesh and visitors to Bangladesh, he said, the embassy will make every effort to build a better relationship between Japan and Bangladesh in all fields, while asking for your opinions and cooperation.
Read: Ambassador Ito sees 5 challenges ahead to elevate Dhaka-Tokyo ties
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted economic activities and cultural and people’s exchanges between Japan and Bangladesh during the one and half years.
"Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been a year of deepening friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries," said the ambassador.
From July to August, Japan provided more than 3 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine with Bangladesh.
"The gift from the Japanese people was to meet the needs of the people of Bangladesh facing the threat of COVID-19 infection," said the ambassador adding that they will also continue their efforts to make the vaccination available further to Japanese citizens in Bangladesh.
Japan to provide US$ 5 million to promote Bangladesh primary education
Bangladesh and Japan on Monday signed an exchange of notes and grant agreement on the “Japanese Grant Aid for the Fourth Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP4).”
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki, Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance Fatima Yasmin and Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh office Hayakawa Yuho signed the documents for over JPY 500 million or US$ 5 million.
Ambassador Naoki said Japan has consistently made efforts to promote quality education in Bangladesh since the country’s independence in 1971.
Also read: Dhaka-Beijing political trust continues to deepen: Envoy
“Higher education is important, but for the development of the country, it is essential to extend cooperation at every level of education. Above all, education is the only way for children born into poor families to overcome poverty and empower themselves. Japan will continue its strong involvement in primary education,” he said.
Secretary Fatima Yasmin said Japan's cooperation covers a wide range of fields, from infrastructure to education.
“Education, in particular, is an investment for the future, and Japan has always been willing to cooperate and provide assistance for the future of Bangladesh. We are very grateful to Japan. I would like to ask for Japan's continued cooperation in primary education.”
Also read: Korea to provide $700m in soft loans between 2021-25
PEDP is a national development strategic programme for primary education in Bangladesh. Japan has been supporting PEDP in cooperation with other development partners since 2011 under the Sector Wide Approaches (SWAPs).
Vaccines, masks? Japan puzzling over sudden virus success
Almost overnight, Japan has become a stunning, and somewhat mysterious, coronavirus success story.
Daily new COVID-19 cases have plummeted from a mid-August peak of nearly 6,000 in Tokyo, with caseloads in the densely populated capital now routinely below 100, an 11-month low.
The bars are packed, the trains are crowded, and the mood is celebratory, despite a general bafflement over what, exactly, is behind the sharp drop.
Japan, unlike other places in Europe and Asia, has never had anything close to a lockdown, just a series of relatively toothless states of emergency.
Some possible factors in Japan's success include a belated but remarkably rapid vaccination campaign, an emptying out of many nightlife areas as fears spread during the recent surge in cases, a widespread practice, well before the pandemic, of wearing masks and bad weather in late August that kept people home.
But with vaccine efficacy gradually waning and winter approaching, experts worry that without knowing what exactly why cases have dropped so drastically, Japan could face another wave like this summer, when hospitals overflowed with serious cases and deaths soared — though the numbers were lower than pre-vaccination levels.
Read: Japan's Kishida sends offering to controversial Tokyo shrine
Many credit the vaccination campaign, especially among younger people, for bringing infections down. Nearly 70 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.
“Rapid and intensive vaccinations in Japan among those younger than 64 might have created a temporary condition similar to herd-immunity,” said Dr. Kazuhiro Tateda, a Toho University professor of virology.
Tateda noted that vaccination rates surged in July to September, just as the more infectious delta variant was spreading fast.
He cautioned, however, that breakthrough infections in the U.S., Britain and other places where inoculations began months earlier than in Japan show that vaccines alone are not perfect and efficacy gradually wears off.
Japan’s vaccinations started in mid-February, with health workers and the elderly first in line. Shortages of imported vaccines kept progress slow until late May, when the supply stabilized and daily inoculation targets were raised to above 1 million doses to maximize protection before the July 23-Aug. 8 Olympics.
The number of daily shots rose to about 1.5 million in July, pushing vaccination rates from 15% in early July to 65% by early October, exceeding the 57% of the United States.
Daily new cases surged just weeks ahead of the Olympics, forcing Japan to hold the Games with daily caseloads of more than 5,000 in Tokyo and around 20,000 nationwide in early August. Tokyo reported 40 cases Sunday, below 100 for the ninth straight day and lowest this year. Nationwide, Japan reported 429 cases Sunday for an accumulated total of about 1.71 million and 18,000 deaths since the pandemic began early last year.
So why the drop?
“It’s a tough question, and we have to consider the effect of the vaccinations progress, which is extremely big,” said Disease Control and Prevention Center Director Norio Ohmagari. “At the same time, people who gather in high-risk environments, such as crowded and less-ventilated places, may have been already infected and acquired natural immunity by now.”
Read:Kishida vows to lead with 'trust and empathy' to fix Japan
Though some speculated that the drop in cases might be due to less testing, Tokyo metropolitan government data showed the positivity rate fell from 25% in late August to 1% in mid-October, while the number of tests fell by one-third. Masataka Inokuchi, the Tokyo Medical Association deputy chief, said falling positivity rates show infections have slowed.
Japan's state of emergency measures were not lockdowns but requests that focused mainly on bars and eateries, which were asked to close early and not serve alcohol. Many people continued to commute on crowded trains, and attended sports and cultural events at stadiums with some social distancing controls.
The emergency requests have ended and the government is gradually expanding social and economic activity while allowing athletic events and package tours on a trial basis using vaccination certificates and increased testing.
To speed up inoculations, former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who left office recently, expanded the number of health workers legally eligible to give shots, opened large-scale vaccination centers and promoted workplace vaccinations beginning in late June.
Kyoto University professor Hiroshi Nishiura told a recent government advisory board meeting that he estimates vaccinations helped some 650,000 people avoid infection and saved more than 7,200 lives between March and September.
Many experts initially blamed younger people, seen drinking on the streets and in parks when the bars were closed, for spreading the virus, but said data showed many in their 40s and 50s also frequented nightlife districts. Most serious cases and deaths were among unvaccinated people in their 50s or younger.
Takaji Wakita, director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, told reporters recently he is worried people have already resumed partying in nightlife districts, noting that the slowing of infections may have already hit bottom.
"Looking ahead, it is important to further push down the caseloads in case of a future resurgence of infections," Wakita said Thursday.
On Friday, new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said a preparedness plan to be compiled by early November would include tougher limits on activities and require hospitals to provide more beds and staff for COVID-19 treatment in case infections soar in a “worst-case scenario.”
He did not elaborate on details.
Many people are cautious about letting down their guard, regardless of the numbers.
Read: Trains packed with commuters as Japan fully ends emergency
Mask-wearing “has become so normal," said university student Mizuki Kawano. “I’m still worried about the virus,” she said.
“I don’t want to get close to those who don’t wear masks,” said her friend, Alice Kawaguchi.
Public health experts want a comprehensive investigation into why infections have dropped off.
An analysis of GPS data showed that people’s movements in major downtown entertainment districts fell during the most recent, third state of emergency, which ended Sept. 30.
“I believe the decrease of people visiting entertainment districts, along with the vaccination progress, has contributed to the decline of infections,” said Atsushi Nishida, the director of the Research Center for Social Science & Medicine Sciences at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science.
But people headed back to entertainment districts as soon as the recent emergency ended, he said, and that may “affect the infection situation in coming weeks.”
Japan's Kishida sends offering to controversial Tokyo shrine
Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida donated ritual offerings Sunday to a Tokyo shrine viewed by Chinese and Koreans as a symbol of Japanese wartime aggression, though he did not make a visit in person.
Kishida donated “masakaki” religious ornaments to mark Yasukuni Shrine's autumn festival. It was the first such observance by Kishida since he took office on Oct. 4.
Read: Japan PM dissolves lower house for Oct. 31 national election
Victims of Japanese aggression during the first half of the 20th century, especially Chinese and Koreans, see the shrine as a symbol of Japan’s militarism because it honors convicted World War II criminals among about 2.5 million war dead.
Such observances are seen by critics as a sign of a lack of remorse over the country's wartime atrocities.
Kishida was visiting the 2011 tsunami-hit areas in northern Japan over the weekend and stayed away from the shrine.
His predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, also only made offerings during his one-year leadership. He stepped down in September and visited the shrine on Sunday, dressed in a formal morning coat.
Read: Kishida vows to lead with 'trust and empathy' to fix Japan
Suga told reporters that he visited as a former prime minister to “offer my respect to the sacred spirits of those who sacrificed their precious lives for the country and to pray that their souls may rest in peace.”
After China and the Koreas reacted with outrage to a visit to Yasukuni by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2013, Japanese leaders have avoided visiting the shrine while in office.
Many South Koreans deeply resent Japan for its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have soured in recent years amid disputes over compensation for Korean wartime laborers and over the systematic abuses of “comfort women” used for sex by the Japanese military before its World War II defeat in 1945.
Japan PM dissolves lower house for Oct. 31 national election
Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolved the lower house of parliament Thursday, paving the way for elections Oct. 31 that will be Japan's first of the pandemic.
At stake will be how Japan faces a potential coronavirus resurgence and revives its battered economy, and if or how Kishida’s government can leave the shadow of the nearly nine years of Abe-Suga rule some describe as dominating to the point of muzzling diverse views.
Read: Kishida vows to lead with 'trust and empathy' to fix Japan
Kishida said he is seeking a mandate for his policies after being elected prime minister by parliament only 10 days ago.
He replaced Yoshihide Suga, who lasted just a year as prime minister and whose support was battered by his perceived high-handed approach in dealing with the coronavirus and insistence on holding the Tokyo Olympics despite rising virus cases.
Kishida, tasked with rallying support for the ruling party, has promised to pursue politics of “trust and empathy.”
Four main opposition parties have agreed to cooperate on some policies, such as addressing gaps between the rich and the poor that they say widened during Shinzo Abe’s government and were worsened by the pandemic.
After Tadamori Oshima, the speaker of the house, announced the dissolution, the 465 lawmakers in the more powerful lower chamber stood up, shouted “banzai” three times and left. Official campaigning for all 465 newly vacant seats begins Tuesday.
Read: Japan's Parliament elects former diplomat Kishida as new PM
The last lower house election was held in 2017 under Abe, a staunch conservative who pulled the long-ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party further to the right while serving as Japan's longest-serving prime minister.
In that vote, the LDP and its coalition partner New Komeito together won 310 seats, or two-thirds of the chamber.
Opposition parties have struggled to win enough votes to form a new government after the brief rule of the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan in 2009-2012. But with weaker LDP support under Suga, the party lost three parliamentary by-elections and a local vote this year to opposition contenders.
Yukio Edano, head of the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told NHK public television that he hopes to make the election “a first step toward changing the politics."
Read:Japan's Parliament set to formally choose Kishida as new PM
In his first policy speech last week, Kishida promised to strengthen the country’s pandemic response, revive the economy and bolster defenses against threats from China and North Korea. He also sought to gradually expand social and economic activities by using vaccination certificates and more testing.
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, said Kishida was selfish for dissolving the lower house so early in his tenure. “It is unclear on what policies he is seeking a mandate from the voters," Tamaki said.
He said his party will propose economic policy that seeks higher pay for workers.
“We want to create a political situation where ruling and opposition blocs are in close competition," Tamaki said.
UN arrival at Bhasan Char to ease better int’l coordination for repatriation: Japan
Seeking sustained international pressure on Myanmar to achieve the Rohingya repatriation goal, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh has said the signing of an MoU between Bangladesh and the UNHCR to begin UN engagement in Bhasan Char will pave the way for even better cooperation and coordination on the Rohingya repatriation process.
“It’s very important that the international community puts pressure on Myanmar as part of the repatriation work. How? I think it depends on the individual country,” he told diplomatic correspondents at “DCAB Talk” on Thursday emphasizing the importance of peace and stability in the region.
Read: Japan to provide more vaccine doses through COVAX in Nov
Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) organized its flagship programme at Jatiya Press Club. DCAB President Pantho Rahaman and its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin also spoke at the event.
Responding to a question on how the international community can put pressure on Myanmar, Ambassador Naoki said there has been pressure coming through UN resolutions which is of course one way while the other possibility is direct contact or direct representation.
“I would say Japan has been doing this by making the use of the channels that Japan has established. So, we directly communicated with the Myanmar military side,” he said.
The Japanese envoy said Japan might not have played a very prominent role but he thinks Japan has been playing a very important role in its own way. “Japan has been doing what Japan can do. We’ll continue to do that.”
Bangladesh sends out strong message with positive growth amid pandemic: Japan
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki on Sunday said Bangladesh has been able to send a strong message to the world in terms of keeping positive GDP growth even in the pandemic.
During a meeting with Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Rizwan Rahman, the Japanese envoy said the “Japanese Economic Zone” in Araihazar will be operational by next year and it will expedite Japanese investments in Bangladesh.
Ambassador Naoki said a joint study can be conducted with an initiative of both the governments to sign a free trade agreement (FTA).
READ: Genuinely excited to welcome Bangladesh Olympic team to Tokyo: Japanese envoy
He also mentioned that smooth customs clearance facilities, import transactions, better infrastructure of EPZ and EZ and skilled human resources will boost ease of doing business.
The Ambassador said Japan’s Mitsubishi has completed their feasibility study and they will make a decision on investment in Bangladesh next year.
Automotive industry in Bangladesh could be an emerging investment destination for Japanese entrepreneurs, said DCCI President Rizwan Rahman.
He said Bangladesh and Japan have had a strong bilateral business relationship since long and thanked the Japanese government for providing Covid vaccine for the Bangladeshi people.
The DCCI President said Bangladesh mainly exports RMG products to Japan and urged the Ambassador to facilitate other promising products for export to Japan.
He said Japan can play a vital role in skill development in Bangladesh and share technical know-how and train Bangladeshi entrepreneurs.
He thanked the Japanese entrepreneurs who had already registered in “Bangladesh Trade & Investment Summit” to be jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and DCCI from October 26.
READ: COVAX Facility: Japan to provide 30mn vaccine doses to other countries
DCCI Senior Vice President N K A Mobin, Vice President Monowar Hossain and Second Secretary (Economic Affairs and Development Cooperation Section) of Japan Embassy Shirahata Kasumi were also present during the meeting.
Kishida vows to lead with 'trust and empathy' to fix Japan
In his first policy speech Friday, Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised to strengthen pandemic management and health care in case of another coronavirus resurgence, and turn around the battered economy while bolstering the country's defenses against threats from China and North Korea.
Tasked with a crucial mission of rallying public support ahead of national elections expected on Oct. 31, Kishida promised to pursue politics of “trust and empathy.”
He was elected by parliament and sworn in Monday as Japan's 100th prime minister, succeeding Yoshihide Suga who left after only a year in office. Suga's perceived high-handed approach to virus measures and holding the Olympics despite rising cases angered the public and hurt the ruling Liberal Democrats.
“I will devote my body and soul to overcome the national crisis together with the people to pioneer the new era so that we can pass a bountiful Japan to the next generation,” said Kishida.
Read:Japan's Parliament elects former diplomat Kishida as new PM
He promised to be more attentive to public concerns and needs, and prepare virus measures based on “a worst case scenario.” That includes taking advantage of a drop in infections to improve crisis management before the weather turns cold, approving COVID-19 treatment pills by the end of December and digitalize vaccine certificates for use at home as Japan gradually tries to expand social and economic activity, Kishida said.
A former moderate who recently turned hawk on security issues, he said Japan should also increase preparedness for growing regional threats.
He said the security environment has become more severe, and that he would revise Japan’s national security and defense strategy to bolster missile defense capability and naval defense.
“I'm determined to defend our land, territorial seas and air space, and the people's lives and assets, no matter what,” Kishida said.
Japan-U.S. alliance remains as the “lynchpin” of diplomatic and security policies, he said, and vowed to further elevate the partnership, which "also serves the foundation of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the entire world.”
Kishida said “establishing a stable relationship with China is important not only for the two countries but also for the region and the international community.” Still, Japan, when necessary, will “speak up” against China’s unilateral and coercive activity in the region, while cooperating with other like-minded democracies.
China has become bolder in pursuing its territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea, where it constructed several man-made islands and turned them into military installations, as well as around the Japanese-controlled East China Sea island of Senkaku, which China also claims. Beijing also has escalated its military activities around self-ruled Taiwan, which it views as part of its territory.
Read: Japan's next leader: Higher wages cure for pandemic doldrums
North Korea’s missile and nuclear development cannot be tolerated, but Japan seeks to normalize diplomatic ties with Pyongyang by resolving the “unfortunate (wartime) past,” and the decades-old issue of Japanese citizens abducted to the North, Kishida said.
Kishida repeated that he is ready to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toward making a breakthrough.
Kishida repeated his policy goals made during the recent governing party leadership race, and pledged to achieve “a positive cycle of growth and distribution” in a society that balances daily lives and the danger of the coronavirus.
He said he seeks to promote growth by investment into cutting-edge research and development and promoting digitalization to modernize bureaucracy, services and industries, while encouraging companies to hike wages. He also wants to step up government support for education and living costs. Many experts, however, are skeptical if income raise could be possible.
Kishida said he hopes to close divisions caused by the pandemic that has worsened gaps between the rich and the poor.
Hasina seeks Japan’s support for early solution to Rohingya crisis
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday sought Japan’s new Prime Minister’s support for an early voluntary, safe and sustainable repatriation of the displaced and distressed Myanmar citizens to their homeland. “… I seek your support for an early voluntary, safe and sustainable repatriation of these displaced and distressed people to their ancestral homes in Rakhine,” she said. She said both the countries share a common stance on resolving the crisis of forcibly-displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar’s Rakhine state. The Prime Minister said this while greeting the newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida through a letter sent to him. Fumio Kishida is the 100th Prime Minister of Japan. Hasina said Kishida’s election is a manifestation of the trust and confidence reposed on his able and dynamic leadership by the people of Japan, his party -- the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and the Diet.
READ: Global community's strong commitment sought to resolve Rohingya crisis
She said both the countries enjoy excellent relations which are based on mutual trust, respect, friendship, and cooperation since Bangladesh’s independence. Hasina recalled the historic visit of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in this particular month of October in 1973 that laid down the foundation of an unwavering and lasting friendship between the two countries. She expressed with confidence that time-tested friendship has now evolved into a ‘Comprehensive Partnership’ which has been agreed to elevate to ‘Strategic Partnership’. “We particularly look forward to celebrating the golden jubilee of our diplomatic relations next year with much fanfare,” she said. Hasina hoped that the existing cordial ties between the two countries will further be strengthened in the days to come. Expressing satisfaction over the increased Japanese investment in the infrastructural development of Bangladesh, she said Japanese companies are attracted by the favorable investment climate in Bangladesh.
READ: Solution has to be sustainable, says UN over Rohingya crisis Hasina believes that their wider engagements would be mutually beneficial, and acknowledged with deep appreciation the cooperation and assistance by the government and the people of Japan during this Covid-19 pandemic. After overcoming this pandemic, she hoped that both countries will reengage, recommit and revitalize the relations with mutually trusted partners. “Bangladesh and Japan, as trusted partners and peace-loving nations, have always worked together in supporting each other in various international fora and in promoting global peace, progress, and prosperity.” She recalled Fumio’s past visit to Bangladesh and made a fresh invitation to visit again at his convenience as the Prime Minister of Japan to Bangladesh to see Japan-Bangladesh signature projects. Hasina expressed her deep commitment to work closely with Fumio and his cabinet as she has been maintaining partnership with his predecessors Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister SUGA Yoshihide, to further consolidate the bilateral relations between our two countries.
Japan's Parliament elects former diplomat Kishida as new PM
Japan's parliament on Monday elected Fumio Kishida, a former moderate turned hawk, as prime minister. He'll face an economy battered by the pandemic, security threats from China and North Korea and leadership of a political party whose popularity is sagging ahead of a fast-approaching crucial national election.
With his party and its coalition partner holding a majority in both houses, Kishida won by a comfortable margin against Yukio Edano, head of the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Kishida and his new Cabinet will be sworn in at a palace ceremony later in the day.
He replaces Yoshihide Suga, who resigned after only one year in office as his support plunged over his government's handling of the pandemic and insistence on holding the Tokyo Olympics as the virus spread.
Kishida is expected to make a policy speech in Parliament on Friday but is looking to dissolve the lower house to hold elections on Oct. 31, Japanese media reported. Observers see the early date as a move to take advantage of his government's fresh image to rally support.
Read: Japan's Parliament set to formally choose Kishida as new PM
Jun Azumi, senior Constitutional Democratic Party lawmaker, criticized Kishida over his plan to dissolve the lower house in just over a week. “It's like a delicatessen that forces customers to buy without a chance to try samples."
A former foreign minister, Kishida, 64, used to be known as a moderate but turned hawkish on security and more conservative on gender equality and other issues, apparently to show loyalty to influential conservatives in the Liberal Democratic Party and win their support. He is firmly entrenched in the conservative establishment, and his victory in last week's vote to replace Suga as the party's leader was a choice for continuity and stability over change.
Kishida replaced all but two of Suga's 20 Cabinet members and 13 will hold ministerial posts for the first time, according to the lineup announced by new Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno. Most of the posts went to powerful factions that voted for Kishida in the party election. Only three women are included, up from two in Suga’s government.
Read: Japan's next leader: Higher wages cure for pandemic doldrums
Veteran female lawmaker Seiko Noda, one of four candidates who vied for the party leadership race, is becoming the minister in charge of the nation's declining birthrate and local revitalization. Another woman, Noriko Horiuchi, became vaccinations minister, replacing Taro Kono, the runner-up in the party leadership race.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, who is former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's younger brother, were retained, ensuring continuity of Japan’s diplomacy and security policies as the country seeks to closely work with Washington under the bilateral security pact in the face of China’s rise and growing tensions in the region, including around Taiwan.
Kishida supports stronger Japan-U.S. security ties and partnerships with other like-minded democracies in Asia, Europe and Britain, in part to counter China and nuclear-armed North Korea.
Kishida created a new Cabinet post aimed at tackling the economic dimensions of Japan's national security, appointing 46-year-old Takayuki Kobayashi, who is relatively new to parliament.
Finance Minister Taro Aso was shifted to a top party post and replaced by his 68-year-old relative, Shunichi Suzuki.
Japan faces growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, which last month test-fired ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets in Japan. Kishida also faces worsening ties with fellow U.S. ally South Korea over history issues even after he struck a 2015 agreement with Seoul to resolve a row over the issue of women who were sexually abused by Japan's military during World War II.
Read:Japan ex-diplomat Kishida wins party vote, to become new PM
An urgent task at home will be turning around his party’s sagging popularity, hurt by Suga’s perceived high-handedness on the pandemic and other issues. Kishida is expected to make a policy speech later this week before dissolving the lower house of Parliament ahead of the general election that must be held by late November.
He'll also have to ensure Japan's health care systems, vaccination campaign and other virus measures are ready for a possible resurgence of COVID-19 in winter, while gradually normalizing social and economic activity.
Kishida said last week that his top priority would be the economy. Kishida’s “new capitalism” is largely a continuation of Abe’s economic policies. He aims to raise income of more people and create a cycle of growth and distribution.
A third-generation politician, Kishida was first elected to Parliament in 1993 representing Hiroshima and is an advocate for nuclear disarmament. He escorted former President Barack Obama during his 2016 visit to the city that, along with Nagasaki, was destroyed in U.S. atomic bombings in the closing days of World War II.