TOKYO: KISHIDA Fumio, who was elected president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday, said that he wants to boost people’s incomes as part of his economic policy.

“I want to pursue economic policies that raise the incomes and wages of a variety of people,” Kishida told an inaugural press conference.

Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, “We want to get back the spirit of working together as one team to tackle the national crisis.”

Kishida said he will draw up economic measures worth tens of trillions of yen by the end of the year.

“By achieving a virtuous cycle of growth and redistribution, I want all parts of the country to benefit from the fruits of growth,” he said, laying out plans to correct economic disparities.

The new LDP leader said he will take into account the Moritomo Gakuen scandal, but he did not say whether there was a need to reinvestigate it.

The scandal involves document tampering at the Finance Ministry over the dubious discount sale of a state land plot to the school operator once linked to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife, Akie.

JIJI Press