Vaccine Czar Kono Will Win Japan Leadership Race, Say Economists
- Kono wants more stimulus, but may not be as gung ho as rivals
- He’s likely to back BOJ continuity now, push changes later
Taro Kono speaks during a news conference announcing to run for leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo, on Sept. 10.
Photographer: Toru Hanai/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Vaccine czar Taro Kono is seen winning elections this month to become Japan’s next prime minister, supporting more stimulus for the pandemic-hit economy and continuity in central bank policy at least for now.
Some 27 out of 36 respondents in a Bloomberg survey of economists see Kono winning the race to replace outgoing premier Yoshihide Suga in a party election Sept. 29. Six analysts said they expect former foreign minister and ex-ruling party policy chief Fumio Kishida to win.