The Asian Development Bank said Monday that its President, Masatsugu Asakawa, has announced he plans to step down on February 23, 2025.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported earlier on Monday that Japan plans to support former top financial diplomat Masato Kanda as a candidate for the next presidency of the ADB.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said in a statement that Japan hopes to nominate the most suitable candidate soon.
The Finance Ministry declined to comment on Kanda’s reported nomination.
Asakawa, a former top diplomat on Japan’s currency policy, became president of the ADB in January 2020 and oversaw the Manila-based lender’s implementation of measures to help the region’s economies cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The election of the new ADB chairman will be conducted through “an open, transparent and merit-based process” in line with the lender’s charter, the development lender said in a statement.
