Fumio Kishida’s unexpected political comeback in Japan
It seems that remembering the name of Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may be worth it after all, despite the nation’s rapid turnover of leaders. Kishida’s premiership began positively in late 2021 but faced challenges when ties between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church became a focal point in the media after the killing of former leader Shinzo Abe in July. Nonetheless, Kishida seems to be bouncing back with increased diplomatic activity and recovering approval ratings.
Kishida’s strengths in international diplomacy have helped him, with a visit to Kyiv in March contrasting well with Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin at the same time. Additionally, Kishida’s recent multi-stage visit to Africa, the first for a Japanese leader in nearly a decade, has garnered positive attention. Due to the Biden administration’s stance on China, Tokyo is gaining global relevance as the US seeks allies to counter Beijing’s rise.
On the domestic front, Japan is showing progress by downgrading COVID-19 to the same status as seasonal influenza, ending most pandemic-era measures, which is expected to help parts of the economy and stabilize the yen. Kishida has also focused on increasing spending to improve defense and address the falling birthrate, although details and funding sources for these plans remain unclear.
With the upcoming Group of Seven summits, speculation has risen that Kishida may capitalize on a successful meeting by calling for a snap election. A strong performance would secure Kishida’s position, leading into next year’s leadership race for the ruling party and setting him up to become one of Japan’s longest-serving leaders in recent decades. While Kishida has denied considering dissolving parliament, the possibility still remains, and strong political moves could prevent him from being overshadowed by his predecessors.
