Fumio Kishida was elected prime minister of Japan. Here are ministers and priorities of his government for the economy and security
Fumio Kishida, the new head of the center-right Liberal Democratic Party, was today elected prime minister of Japan. NEW ELECTIONS
Kishida will dissolve the lower house of parliament in the next few days, perhaps Thursday 14, to call general elections on 31 October. The widespread opinion, writes the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, was that the elections would be held next month, on 7 or 14 November. CONSENT
Kishida’s predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, had in fact announced his resignation on 3 September, declaring that he did not want to participate in the internal elections of the Liberal Democrats: in Japan the figure of the prime minister coincides with that of the head of the ruling party. His level of popularity had been declining for some time, thanks to the increase in coronavirus infections (the country is in the “fifth wave”) and widespread opposition to the Tokyo Olympics.
The approval rate of the Liberal Democratic Party is growing today, and therefore the Kishida government will be able to enjoy – at least initially – a good degree of popular support: the Nikkei explains that this phase, following the inauguration of a new cabinet, is typical . THE CONTAGIONS
Kishida, who last week won the internal elections of the Liberal Democratic Party, is trying to ride this phase as much as possible: on September 30, the government lifted the state of emergency after managing to lower the new coronavirus cases. But if the infections were to rise again with the return to “normalcy”, the approval rate of the new prime minister could suffer. INTERNATIONAL AGENDA
Kishida will not participate in the G20 summit to be held in Italy at the end of the month, as it coincides with the elections. But on November 1, he will be in the UK to attend COP26, the United Nations climate conference, where he will be able to meet with US President Joe Biden and many other leading politicians.WHO IS IN THE KISHIDA GOVERNMENT
The Kishida government will be short-lived, but it will focus on the economy and the vaccination campaign. The cabinet is made up of young politicians (given Japanese standards) and a significant number of women (politics in the country is still predominantly male today).
The dossier of economic security – extremely important in times of industrial and political competition between the United States and China – will be entrusted to Takayuki Kobayashi, former Deputy Minister of Defense.
Noriko Horiuchi, former Deputy Minister of the Environment, will head the vaccination campaign. Shunichi Suzuki will be Minister of Finance, while Koichi Hagiuda (former Minister of Science and Technology) will be Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Toshimitsu Motegi and Nobuo Kishi will retain their positions as Foreign and Defense Minister, respectively.
The cabinet secretary will be Hirokazu Matsuno, former Minister of Education.
Shigeyuki Goto will be Minister of Health and Labor. Seiko Noda will be minister of the demographic decline. Daishiro Yamagiwa will be minister of state for economic and fiscal policy.
Karen Makishima will be Minister of Digital. THE COMMENT OF CASANOVA (ISPI)
In a commentary for ISPI, analyst Guido Alberto Casanova recalls that Kishida “is not the homo novus of Japanese politics” but, on the contrary, a long-time politician, who held the position of Foreign Minister (2012-2017 ) and is influential in the Liberal Democratic Party. He calls himself a liberal; he is judged “a moderate and a pragmatist”. In economics, he promised a “new capitalism” more attentive to the issue of redistribution and an expansive spending policy (taken up by former prime minister Shinzo Abe).
According to Casanova, Kishida’s victory in the elections of the Liberal Democratic Party represents “a choice of continuity”. THE COMMENT OF PUGLIESE (IAI)
Giulio Pugliese also talks about continuity in an article in Affarinternazionali, the IAI magazine, to explain that Kishida is linked to the “political legacy of Abe”.
In foreign policy, Pugliese writes, Kishida has already promised his commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is the expression usually used by the United States to indicate an alternative vision for Asia to that of China. “In the wake of this consistency, Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu will likely be reconfirmed in this role, the third consecutive post under three prime ministers: Abe, Suga and Kishida”.
“If one sees in Kishida’s personality and approach the basis for a potential stabilization of Japan’s relations with South Korea or even with China”, continues Pugliese, “Japan will continue to counterbalance Chinese influence with its main regional partners, primarily the countries of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad): United States, Australia and India “.
As for the economy, even Pugliese – like Casanova – argues that Kishida adopts expansionary fiscal and monetary policies to counter the impact of the pandemic
