PM Modi dials Japan's 100th PM Fumio Kishida; 'Look forward to working with him'

After Fumio Kishida was formally elected as the 100th Prime Minister of Japan on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took to Twitter and informed that he has spoken to the new Japanese PM and congratulated him personally. He also emphasised that they would both work towards strengthening India and Japan's 'Strategic & Global Partnership'. 

PM Modi tweeted:

On October 4, PM Modi had extended his greetings to Fumio Kishida and wished prosperity for Japan's 100th PM. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi had stated,

"We would like to congratulate Fumio Kishida, who became the new Prime Minister of Japan, and wish him all the best in the future. We look forward to working together to further strengthen the India-Japan Strategic Global Partnership and promote peace and prosperity both inside and outside the region."

Meanwhile, Kishida delivered his first policy speech on Friday and spoke about a series of issues including the COVID-19 pandemic and the country's economy. Apart from this, Kishida also spoke on national security issues, in view of threats from China and North Korea.

Fumio Kishida has asserted that Japan should increase its military preparedness for growing regional threats. He said that the security environment has become more severe. Therefore, he has also vowed to revise the country's national security and defence strategy to bolster missile defence capability and naval defence. 

Fumio Kishida becomes Japan's new Prime Minister 

Japan's parliament elected Fumio Kishida as Prime Minister on Monday. With his party and its coalition partner holding a majority in both houses, Kishida won by a comfortable margin against Yukio Edano, head of the largest opposition in the country, The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. 

The 64-year-old has replaced the outgoing party leader PM Yoshihide Suga, who bowed out from the leadership race earlier this month amid anguish over his administration’s COVID-19 management. 

Kishida is a former minister who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017. He has also served as the LDP policy chief from 2017 to 2020. According to Nikkei Asia, he had been groomed as a potential successor during former PM Shinzo Abe’s administration. He is a nine-term member of the House of Representatives.

(With Agency Inputs)