Taro Kono, a senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who has announced he will stand in the Sept. 29 leadership election for the governing party, is known as an outspoken and reform-minded politician, traits that have earned him consistent popularity in opinion polls as a potential future prime minister.
Kono, 58, who is the minister in charge of vaccination as well as administrative and regulatory reform minister, has been spearheading the country's coronavirus vaccine program under outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
A Georgetown University graduate, Kono was foreign minister between 2017 and 2019, and communicated with his counterparts in fluent English. He subsequently served as defense minister for a year.
An eighth-term member of the House of Representatives representing a constituency in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kono was born into a family of politicians. His father, Yohei Kono, was chief Cabinet secretary, foreign minister, and lower house speaker.
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