Fumio Kishida, policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and former foreign minister, who has declared his candidacy for the party leadership election to choose the successor of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, poses for a photograph next to an LDP poster showing a picture of Abe, during an interview with Reuters at LDP headquarters in Tokyo, Japan September 2, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
TOKYO (Reuters) - Former Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida, a candidate for leadership of the ruling party to replace Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said on Wednesday that frank talks are needed with the United States over Japan's share of its defence burden.
Kishida, 63, long assumed to be Abe's preferred successor to lead the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has fared poorly in opinion polls but has sought to distinguish himself from other candidates by emphasising the diplomatic experience gained during his 2012-2017 stint as foreign minister.
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