64-year-old Kishida, who was
elected leader He was officially confirmed as the country’s 100th prime minister after a parliamentary vote by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last week – his promotion was granted because of the LDP’s majority in the lower house.
After the vote, Kishida announced his new cabinet, which stands with the former prime minister’s aides.
Shinzo Abe. Of the 20 members, 13 have no previous cabinet experience, three are women and the average age is 61.
Considered a moderate liberal as a steady hand, Kishida inherits a Japan that has weathered rising Covid-19 infections, a stagnant economy, a rapidly aging population and rising tensions.
China.
Kishida served as the country’s foreign minister under Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, from 2012 to 2017. He will replace outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who
announced earlier this month He will not run after a turbulent term due to a slump in public support in the election of his party’s leadership as he struggled to contain the coronavirus.
Analysts say Kishida is seen as a consensus builder, an establishment alternative that represents stability. But the political giant was not the popular choice – he received little support from the public and struggled to shake his image as a boring bureaucrat.
His first big test will be the next general election, in which he will be the face of a party that has been criticized for its handling of the pandemic under Suga.
“He’s not going to be a TV star. He’s not going to capture the imagination of the average Japanese person. But the Japanese people want stability and security, and I think he’ll be able to provide that,” Keith Henry, said the chairman of the political risk and business consulting firm Asia Strategy.
What to expect from Kishida’s administration
Kishida promises a “new capitalism” that includes bridging the income gap and boosting consumer spending. He said that Abe’s economic policies, known as Abenomics, failed to “trick” from the rich to the poor. He has also proposed a massive recovery package worth “several tens of trillions” of yen to lift Japan’s economy out of the pandemic-induced recession.
“There is a deep sense among the Japanese people that the gap between the rich and the disadvantaged, the gap between wealth, wages and opportunity is widening,” Henry said.
Kishida will also take the country’s response to the coronavirus. Japan has vaccinated 60% of its population against COVID-19, and last week the country lifted a state of emergency amid a drop in infections. Social and business restrictions are gradually being eased and Japan
loose entry restrictions for some visitors. But there are concerns that the virus could re-emerge in the winter months.
On foreign policy, Kishida
is committed to “Achieving a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” his predecessor Suga
attended the first personal meeting The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as “The Quad”, was an informal strategic forum of the United States, Australia, Japan and India in the US last month.
Kishida is expected to support a strong alliance with the US and other allies, and a key
the challenge of balance Japan’s deepening economic ties with China and its concerns about Beijing’s growing military assertiveness in the region. Kishida is also faced with the increasingly aggressive North Korea.
The new prime minister said he also wanted to take steps against the country’s falling birth rate, and believed nuclear power should be considered as a clean energy alternative.
Analysts question whether Kishida will be a permanent leader, or whether Japan will return to a period of political instability similar to the pre-Abe era, when Japan cycled through six prime ministers in six years.
“There are a lot of complicated issues. And he is not the strongest leader in the ruling party of LDP. That’s why I am very concerned about the revolving PM system,”
Takeshi Niinami. he said, economic adviser to former Prime Minister Suga and CEO of Japan’s beverage giant Suntory.
South Korea’s Blue House said that on Monday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory letter to Kishida, expressing hope that the two leaders would develop Korea-Japan relations and cooperate as neighbors.
CNN’s Gawon Bay in Seoul contributed reporting.
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