Name? Fumio Kishida
Westphalian identity? Japanese
Age? 64
Why is he in the news? Mr. Kishida has succeeded Mr. Suga as Japan’s latest Prime Minister as Suga has resigned from the role after a mere year in office. PM Kishida faces a tough first 100 days in office as he must lead the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in general elections at the end of the month while also managing post-pandemic recovery and threats from North Korea.
Why do we care? Kishida was the longest-serving post-war foreign minister and is known to have the backing of the LDP’s veteran politicians. Unfortunately, none of this will matter if he is unable to bolster public support for the LDP and stay in office longer than his predecessor…
Why should you care? Similar to why we care, Kishida seems to be the ideal candidate to bring some stability back to Japan after the vast uncertainty of this past year which you should care 7/10 for two reasons: 1) stability for Japan domestically can also mean stability for her allies in the Pacific. 2) Japan could see a return to the pre-Abe “revolving door” era in which Japan saw six PMs in six years…
Who else cares? Xi Jinping, President of China. Kishida’s hawkish stance on Xi’s China has already taken form in him securing a US’ commitment to help Tokyo defend disputed territories. Furthermore, Kishida used his first press conference as PM to express concern about China’s ability to meet the requirements of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This all took place after Xi sent Kishida a congratulatory letter, it’s safe to say Xi is probably missing Suga already…
Any further comments? Since it’s a bit early for individual analysis or opinion on Kishida, how about some fun facts? As a Hiroshima native, Kishida not only opposes the use of nuclear weapons but also arranged former President Obama’s 2016 visit to Hiroshima.
