Japan nominates ex-currency diplomat Kanda to head ADB

(Corrects to remove extraneous word in headline)

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 held by a person from Japan, which, along with the United States, is the bank’s biggest shareholder, making Kanda a strong candidate to take up the post.