Fumio Kishida

Jakarta –

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will be better remembered abroad than among his own supporters at home, according to political analysts. On Wednesday (14/8) he announced that he would not run again in the election for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, and ended his term in office which began in September 2021.

Kishida’s announcement shocked Japan, and sparked fierce competition among half a dozen top LDP officials vying for his position.

Even though he did well, Kishida’s reputation was undermined by a scandal within the party he was not involved in. “He’s more popular overseas than in Japan, and it’s important that some foreign leaders praise his leadership on the world stage,” said Hiromi Murakami, a political science professor at Temple University’s Tokyo campus. .

US President Joe Biden said in a statement: “Simply put, thanks to Prime Minister Kishida’s leadership, the future of the US-Japan alliance is stronger and brighter than ever. “

International awards

Biden said Kishida had “changed Japan’s place in the world,” adding that his “courageous leadership will be remembered on both sides of the Pacific for decades to come.”

The recognition is a result of Japan’s active foreign policy, Murakami told DW. Kishida not only increased defense spending, but also changed the doctrine of Japan’s security policy in the Indo-Pacific to counter threats from Russia, North Korea and China.

“He held the G-7 meeting in Hiroshima last May, which again emphasized his diplomatic credentials, and in July he was the first Japanese leader to attend a NATO summit,” said Biden again.

Adding to the list of achievements is a strong commitment to support Ukraine, even though Japan’s constitution prohibits Tokyo from arming Kyiv.

One of the biggest diplomatic issues Kishida tackled was restoring relations with South Korea, after years of tension over Japan’s record of crimes against humanity in World War II.

Domestically, Kishida achieved several political victories, by passing a post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery program, increasing civil servant salaries, and maintaining cost-of-living limits amid inflation. However, he was unable to find solutions to a number of problems that had plagued previous governments, particularly Japan’s shrinking and aging population.

Dead street in Tokyo

However, in the end, it was the scandal within the LDP that marked the end of his term in Tokyo. “I feel a little sorry for Kishida because what brought him down was the bad legacy of the previous LDP administration,” said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo.

“He was treated badly not because of the problems he created,” he said.

Kishida took over the leadership of the party in October 2021, just nine months before former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated while campaigning in the city of Nara. The perpetrator said he was motivated to kill Abe because of the LDP’s close ties to the controversial Unification Church.

Further investigation revealed that the religious group, which came from South Korea and is better known as the Moonies, had a lot of influence on government policy. Even though party officials cut all ties with the church, public trust in the LDP was severely damaged.

Trust in the government was further shaken in late 2023 after a series of investigations that dozens of LDP politicians over the years collected 600 million yen or USD 4.1 million worth of slush money. Kishida dismissed four members of his Cabinet. Police arrested a parliamentary assistant and an accountant.

It has nothing to do with the scandal

Kishida himself is not directly connected to the Unification Church or the slush fund scandal surrounding his party. But he was the one who became the target of public criticism. As a result, the level of public satisfaction with the government’s performance, which hovered in the mid-30 percent range in previous polls, has fallen, with a Jiji Press poll placing it at just 15.5 percent in early July.

“It’s been a bad year for Kishida personally, and the party in general,” agreed Kingston. “But his news was a surprise because I thought he had been working really hard to stay.

“It is very likely that with a general election to be held by the end of October next year, the elders of the party are pushing for it because they hope that by changing the leader, maybe they can hit the reset button,” Kingston said. DW.

“I don’t think it’s possible that someone new can solve all the party’s problems, but I think Kishida feels that the party doesn’t understand enough right now ,” he said, adding that the focus must now shift quickly to choosing the candidate who has the best chance of convincing voters that he has what it takes to lead the party and the country. move again in the right direction.

rzn/hp

(eng/ita)