Ex-foreign minister Kishida to be Japan's new PM after winning party vote

Former banker has promised tens of trillions of yen in spending and pledged to steer away from 'neo-liberal' economic policies.

Fumio Kishida is set to become Japan’s prime minister, after the ex-foreign minister overcame popular reformer Taro Kono to win leadership of the country’s ruling party.
 

Kishida, 64, was expected to be appointed Monday to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, putting him in charge of the world’s third-largest economy as it seeks to rebound from a virus emergency. The self-effacing former banker from Hiroshima has promised tens of trillions of yen in spending and pledged to steer away from “neo-liberal” economic policies in a bid to bolster the middle class.

Kishida’s victory caps an unpredictable Liberal Democratic Party election,