TOKYO -- In picking Fumio Kishida, Japan's political establishment turned to a safe pair of hands to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party into a general election this autumn.
In a party leadership election on Wednesday, Kishida comfortably defeated his main rival Taro Kono, Japan's outspoken vaccine minister who bills himself as reformist. He also topped Sanae Takaichi, a hard-line conservative backed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Seiko Noda, a center-left lawmaker who is progressive on social policies.
