Masato Kanda now becomes the unopposed 11th president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as elected by its Board of Governors. He currently holds the position of Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan and Minister of Finance, and he will succeed Masatsugu Asakawa in taking office on February 24 in the year 2025.
At 59 years of age, Kanda brings with him almost four decades of experience in international finance and leadership in multilateral settings. He has held vital positions in the Japanese Ministry of Finance, one of which is the vice-minister for finance for international affairs. Kanda’s fields include financial sector policy, macro-fiscal policy, education, and science policy.
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He has also actively participated in other international forums like the G7 and G20, among other critical policy issues, such as evolution in multilateral development banks, pandemic preparedness, and debt sustainability. During his time as Vice-Minister, Japan contributed Japan’s share of over $1 billion to the 13th replenishment of the Asian Development Fund. He has chaired the OECD Corporate Governance Committee since 2016 and has considerable experience at the World Bank as Alternate Executive Director for Japan.
Established in 1966, ADB aspires to a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and Pacific while working towards eradicating extreme poverty.