MNI: Japan LDP Kishida Elected Prime Minister, To Form Cabinet

Fumio Kishida, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was elected as Japan's prime minister in a special Diet session on Monday drawing on a majority in the powerful lower house of parliament.

Kishida will appoint ministers later Monday and dissolve the lower House in mid-this month and hold a general election on Oct. 31, facing the immediate challenge of helping the party retain power.

The LDP is expected to win, which would put Kishida in the position to name the successor of BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, whose term ends in April 2023.

Kishida, former Liberal Democratic Party policy chief, has said that the government will compile economic stimulus package worth "tens of trillions of yen" by the end of this year. Kishida has said he plans to expand support for household spending on education and housing and 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.