Special adviser to Japan’s PM appointed ADB head

MASATSUGU Asakawa has been unanimously elected president of Asian Development Bank (ADB) by its board of governors.
Asakawa, 61, currently special adviser to Japan’s Prime Minister Shinz Abe and Minister of Finance Tar As, will assume office as ADB’s 10th president on Jan 17.
He will succeed Takehiko Nakao, who leaves office on Jan 16.
Asakawa will finish the unexpired term of president Nakao, which ends on Nov 23, 2021.
“Asakawa’s extensive and diverse experience in international finance and development will serve ADB well in pursuing its vision of a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance of Republic of Korea and chair of ADB board of governors Hong Nam-Ki said.
“The ADB board of governors look forward to working with Mr Asakawa.”
In a career spanning close to four decades, Asakawa has held a range of senior positions in Japan’s ministry of finance, including vice-minister of finance for international affairs, and gained diverse professional experience in development policy, foreign exchange markets, and international tax policy.
He served as finance deputy for the 2019 G20 Osaka Summit and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Fukuoka, Japan.
Furthermore, in the immediate aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, he took part in the first G20 Leaders’ Summit Meeting in his capacity as executive assistant to the then prime minister Taro Aso.
Asakawa has had frequent engagement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, including as chair of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs from 2011 to 2016.
Asakawa also served as a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo and at Saitama University.