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The government plans to nominate Japan’s former top finance diplomat, Masato Kanda, as the next president of the Asian Development Bank, sources familiar with the matter said Monday.
Japan has dominated the chief post of the ADB since the Manila-based multilateral lender was established in 1966. If elected by member countries, Kanda, 59, will succeed Masatsugu Asakawa, another former senior official of the country’s Finance Ministry.
The combined photo shows Masatsugu Asakawa (L) and Masato Kanda. (Kyodo)
The ADB announced the same day that Asakawa will step down on Feb. 23. He took up the presidency in January 2020 and was reelected in August 2021.
Kanda was behind recent massive market interventions by Japan to stem the yen’s sharp falls against other major currencies as vice finance minister for international affairs. He left the post in July after serving for three years.
“We’ll promptly recommend the most suitable person from Japan,” Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said in a statement without giving any specific name following the ADB’s announcement.