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8 October 2021

Who is Japan’s new prime minister, Fumio Kishida?

The leader has been described as a moderate in a Liberal Democratic Party dominated by its right wing.

Fumio Kishida has formally taken office as Japan’s new prime minister, succeeding Yoshihide Suga as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

In this episode of World Review, Ido Vock in Berlin and new co-host Megan Gibson in London discuss Kishida’s rise to power with Tokyo-based journalist Kenji Hall.

They cover the new prime minister’s plans for economic reform, whether Japan’s pacifist constitution could change as the country faces an increasingly assertive China, and the factional jostling within the dominant LDP.

If you’d like to submit a question for You Ask Us, please email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk.

Further reading:

Hall on why Japan’s new prime minster has his work cut out for him.

Kristin Surak on Shinzo Abe and the rise of Japanese nationalism.

Tom Feiling on how the Olympics threw the future of former Japanese prime minister Suga into doubt.

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