Japan’s new foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will stand firm on Diaoyu Islands but won’t rock US-China balance: analysts

PM Fumio Kishida is believed to have appointed Hayashi, the head of a cross-party group promoting Japan-China ties, despite opposition from powerful ex-premier Shinzo Abe

Apart from walking the US-China tightrope, Hayashi faces a range of ‘intractable problems’, including North Korea, Taiwan, and ties with neighbouring South Korea

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Japan’s new foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:38pm, 10 Nov 2021Updated: 1:29am, 11 Nov 2021

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday named a new cabinet, with Yoshimasa Hayashi taking over as foreign minister and Gen Nakatani, a former defence minister, named the special adviser on human rights.

Kishida, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was confirmed as prime minister 10 days after winning the general election, and is now expected to deliver on his campaign promises, including getting the economy back on track and achieving what he has termed “new capitalism” aimed at achieving economic growth and rectifying wealth disparities.

Hayashi replaces Toshimitsu Motegi, who is now the LDP’s secretary general.

There had been rumblings from the party’s conservative wing that Hayashi would be too soft on China to be an effective foreign minister, with suggestions that the still-influential former premier Shinzo Abe was strongly opposed to his appointment for that very reason.

But Kishida appears to have overcome the resistance with his appointment of Hayashi, who is head of a cross-party group that promotes Japan-China relations. Hayashi is also a member of Kishida’s faction, which is known within the LDP for its history of building ties with China.

Kishida, previously seen as a dove on foreign policy, toughened his stance on Beijing during his run for the LDP leadership in September, and appointed rival and China hawk Sanae Takaichi to a key party post after winning the election. He also this week named an outspoken China critic to a new position as adviser on human rights.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Photo: AFP