Japanese government resigns, Fumio Kishida to take office as New Prime Minister

Tokyo [Japan]: The Japanese government has resigned and the parliament will vote on the candidacy of the Prime Minister on Monday, the Kyodo news agency reports, adding that former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will be elected premier.

At the end of September, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato announced that the Japanese cabinet had scheduled an extraordinary parliamentary session for October 4 to elect a new prime minister.

Incumbent Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced in early September his decision not to run for the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which means his resignation as head of government as well.

Kyodo reported on Monday morning that Kishida, 64, will be elected premier by parliament when it convenes for an extraordinary session in the afternoon. In the new cabinet, Toshimitsu Motegi is set to be retained as foreign minister while Shunichi Suzuki will be tapped as finance minister and Hirokazu Matsuno as chief Cabinet secretary, Kyodo said.