By Makiko Yamazaki

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will nominate Masato Kanda, the country’s former top currency diplomat, as its candidate to become next head of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday.

Since the ADB was founded in 1966, its top post has always been filled by someone from Japan which, along with the United States, is the bank’s biggest shareholder. That makes Kanda a strong candidate to take up the post.

“(Kanda) is most appropriate to lead the ADB as he is well-versed in Asia-Pacific affairs and has built deep networks with executives from various countries and international institutions,” Suzuki said at a regular press conference.

Kanda, if elected, will succeed Masatsugu Asakawa, who announced on Monday his intention to step down from his position effective Feb. 23, 2025.

The development lender said in a statement that election of the next ADB president would follow “an open, transparent, and merit-based process”.

Kanda, who stepped down in July after three years as vice finance minister for international affairs, led massive bouts of yen-buying intervention in the currency markets in 2022 and 2024. He currently serves as a special adviser to the cabinet.

Asakawa, also a former top Japanese currency diplomat, became ADB president in January 2020 and oversaw measures to help the region’s economies deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several emerging economies, emboldened by their rapid growth, have questioned the tradition of advanced economies taking the top posts at global financial institutions.

Officials from the United States head the World Bank and Europeans head the International Monetary Fund.