Japanese prime ministerial candidate Kishida wants to delay economic stimulus debate

Tokyo

FUMIO Kishida, a key contender to succeed Yoshihide Suga as Japan's prime minister, said on Sunday that debate on funding economic stimulus measures he has proposed should wait until after a general election later this year.

The former foreign minister's remark underscores the rising risk of a delay in compiling the Budget for next fiscal year as economic policy is in limbo during the campaign for premier after Mr Suga's abrupt withdrawal last week.

"I will lay out the general direction of my stimulus package idea, but it won't be easy for the government to boil down details of the plan," Mr Kishida said in a television programme.

"How to fund the package will be something that will be discussed once the general election is over."

In a surprise announcement last Friday, Mr Suga said he will not run for re-election as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The party president becomes prime minister because of the LDP's majority in parliament.

The winner of the now wide-open LDP race must call a general election by Nov 28. Mr Suga is expected to stay on until his successor is chosen in the party election scheduled for Sept 29.

Mr Suga's exit has heightened uncertainty on the outlook for economic policy as several contenders emerge to replace him.

Mr Kishida has said he would compile a spending package worth several tens of trillions of yen to cushion the blow from the coronavirus pandemic, which is surging in a fourth wave in Japan.

The timing of the general election could affect procedures for drafting the budget and additional pandemic-relief spending plans.

The government usually compiles a budget in late December, after months of preparation, to submit to Parliament in January for enactment before the April start of the fiscal year.

Last Saturday, Mr Suga said he will back Taro Kono, the popular minister in charge of the nation's vaccination rollout, to succeed him, according to a report by Nippon News Network.

Hours after Mr Suga's announcement last Friday, broadcaster TBS reported, without citing sources, that Mr Kono intended to run for head of the LDP. Mr Kono told reporters only that he wanted to consult party colleagues before deciding.

A former foreign and defence minister, Mr Kono, 58, is popular among young voters after building support through Twitter, where he has 2.3 million followers - a rarity in Japanese politics, which is dominated by older men less adept with social media.

The Kyodo news agency said nearly a third of respondents to a telephone poll it conducted over the weekend said Mr Kono was most suitable to succeed Mr Suga as premier.

Mr Kono was named by 31.9 per cent of respondents in the Kyodo poll as the most suitable person to succeed Mr Suga, trailed by former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba with 26.6 per cent, and Mr Kishida with 18.8 per cent.

Former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to be one of two woman hoping to become Japan's first woman premier.

She had secured the backing of the 20 LDP lawmakers needed to run in the party's leadership race, public broadcaster NHK said.

Ms Takaichi had received a boost by winning the support of Mr Suga's long-serving predecessor Shinzo Abe, media reported last Saturday.

The other woman looking to run in the race is Seiko Noda, another former internal affairs minister, who has also held the portfolio for women's empowerment. She wanted to run for the LDP presidency in 2015 but fell short of the 20 backers needed to do so. REUTERS