Kishida to tap ex-education minister Hayashi as foreign minister

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has decided to appoint his close aide and former education minister Yoshimasa Hayashi as foreign minister when he launches his new Cabinet next week, a source close to the matter said Saturday.The appointment, slated for Wednesday, comes as Japan faces a host of diplomatic challenges such as China's assertive territorial claims in the East and South China seas, as well as North Korea's nuclear weapons development and missile launches, on top of strategic competition between the United States and China in the Indo-Pacific.Kishida has doubled as foreign minister s…READ FULL ARTICLE