Aso becomes longest-serving postwar finance minister

February 12, 2018

Tokyo- Taro Aso became Japan's longest-serving finance minister in the post-World War II period on Monday, as he struggles to pull the country out of deflation and rebuild its tattered finances.

Aso marked 1,875 days in office after he was given the post in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Dec. 26, 2012, surpassing Kiichi Miyazawa, who spent a total of 1,874 days as finance minister.

Aso is responsible for supporting the prime minister's Abenomics growth policy. But the country has not yet achieved 2 pct inflation, a goal set by the government and the Bank of Japan.

Years of strong stock market performance, which Abe touted as one of the achievements of his Abenomics policy, have been overshadowed by recent global financial market turmoil. Jiji Press