Candidate in Japan race calls for new capitalism, recovery

TOKYO (AP) — One of the main candidates to be Japan's next prime minister said Wednesday the country needs a new type of capitalism to address income and social gaps caused by the pandemic.

Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is the only announced candidate so far in the race to lead the governing Liberal Democratic Party and succeed outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Whoever wins the Sept. 29 party vote is almost certain to be the next government leader.

Kishida focused on his economic policy, which he described as a shift from the neo-liberalism and deregulation started by a reformist former leader Junichiro Koizumi in the early 2000s that Japan has since adopted.

While deregulation and structural reforms have strengthened Japan’s economy and promoted growth, they also “created a gap between the rich and the poor, and those who possess and others who don’t,” Kishida said. The coronavirus pandemic has worsened the disparity, he said, noting tourism industry workers, contract workers and women are among the worst-hit.

“We have to turn around the economy in this situation, and if we just do the same thing, the gaps will only grow and there will be no positive cycle,” he said. “We will make a change."

Kishida also proposed an economic recovery package and a university package to promote vaccine development, biomedicine and other cutting-edge science. He also said he will promote clean energy technology to turn climate change measures into growth as Japan aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Suga's decision to not run in the LDP race was important to give his party a fresh leader ahead of a general election that must be held by late November. The new party leader almost certainly will become Japan’s next prime minister because of the parliamentary majority...