MNI: Kishida Wins LDP Leadership Race; Set To Become Japan PM

Fumio Kishida, former Liberal Democratic Party policy chief, on Wednesday won a runoff for the ruling LDP leadership race, capturing 257 of the 427 votes from 380 lawmakers and 47 voters representing each of Japan's prefectures.

His challenger Taro Kono got 170 of the 427 voters. All four candidates are onboard with large-scale fiscal spending to support an economy facing downside risks caused by a prolonged coronavirus pandemic and general support for current monetary policies, see: MNI: Race To Lead Japan's LDP To Impact Future BOJ.

Kishida will be elected prime minister in a special parliamentary session Oct. 4, and a new cabinet is expected to be put in place that day based on the LDP-led coalition's majority in the powerful lower house. He will take the party into a general election in November.

STIMULUS PACKAGE

Kishida has proposed an economic stimulus package worth "tens of trillions of yen."

He has called for establishing a JPY10 trillion ($90 billion) university fund to expand investments in science and technology and promoted what he calls a "digital garden city state" concept to revitalize regional areas through high-tech investments from autonomous driving to smart farming, which could help companies operating in these sectors.

Another focus of Kishida's policy pitch is reducing income disparities in a bid to support economically vulnerable citizens, and to prevent large corporations from "bullying" smaller businesses.

Kishida has also said that the government will not raise the consumption tax for the next decade.

LOCKDOWNS EASED

The government officially on Tuesday decided to lift its state of emergency covering Tokyo and 18 other prefectures at the end of this month, as the country makes progress on its Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will resign on Thursday. He said his government has focused on "securing the healthcare system, implementing thorough infection-prevention measures and accelerating vaccinations."

The government is attempting to balance two priorities -- curbing the virus and propping up the economy, now that nearly 60% of the population has received two COVID vaccine shots.