Appoint Islamic leader in Asian country (not Japan) (6)
I believe the answer is:
ordain
'appoint' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'islamic leader in asian country not japan' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'in' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ordain that I've seen before include "frock" , "Decree or appoint to priesthood" , "Either prescribe" , "Elevate or appoint to priesthood" , "Establish" .)