Masato Kanda, Japan’s Finance Ministry’s deputy finance minister for international affairs, at a press conference after the Group of 20 (G-20) finance ministers and central bank governors meeting.
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Japan will nominate Masato Kanda, the country’s former top monetary diplomat, to be the next president of the Asian Development Bank, Finance Minister Shuni Suzuki said on Tuesday.
Since the establishment of the Asian Bank in 1966, its top positions have been held by Japanese, and Japan and the United States are both the largest shareholders of the Asian Bank. That makes Kanda a strong candidate for the position.
“(Kanda) is best suited to lead ADB because of his proficiency in Asia-Pacific affairs and his deep network with senior executives from various countries and international institutions,” Suzuki said at a regular news conference.
If elected, Kanda will succeed Masatsugu Asakawa, who announced on Monday his intention to resign effective February 23, 2025.
The development bank said in a statement that the selection of the next ADB president will follow an “open, transparent and merit-based process”.
Kanda, who resigned in July after three years as finance deputy minister for international affairs, led large-scale yen-buying interventions in currency markets in 2022 and 2024.
Asakawa, who was Japan’s top monetary diplomat, became ADB president in January 2020 and was responsible for overseeing measures to help the region’s economies cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some emerging economies, buoyed by rapid growth, are questioning the tradition of developed economies holding senior positions in global financial institutions.
An American official serves as president of the World Bank and a European official serves as president of the International Monetary Fund.
