The choice for Japan's prime minister is a party stalwart who lagged in opinion polls.

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: New York Times


Fumio Kishida, a former foreign minister, was chosen on Wednesday to lead the governing party.Credit...Agence France-Presse, via Jiji Press

TOKYO — In a triumph of elite power brokers over public sentiment, Japan’s governing party on Wednesday elected Fumio Kishida, a former foreign minister, as its choice for the next prime minister. By selecting Mr. Kishida, 64, a moderate party stalwart, in a runoff election for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party, the party’s elites appeared to disregard the public’s preferences and choose a candidate who offered little to distinguish himself from the unpopular departing prime minister, Yoshihide Suga.

Wednesday’s leadership election was the most hotly contested in years. While party leaders usually coalesce around a candidate, this time it was not clear that Mr. Kishida would prevail until the ballots were counted in a second round at a luxury hotel in Tokyo. Mr. Kishida defeated his chief rival, Taro Kono, an outspoken American-educated maverick, 257 to 170, in a runoff vote dominated by the party’s members of Parliament.

Neither the public nor the rank-and-file members of the party had shown much support for Mr. Kishida. But the conservative wing of the party, which dominates Parliament, preferred Mr. Kishida to Mr. Kono, 58, the minister in charge of Japan’s vaccine rollout. Japan’s Parliament will hold a special session early next month to officially select the new prime minister. Given that the Liberal Democrats control the legislature, Mr. Kishida’s appointment is all but guaranteed. He will also lead the party in a general election that must be held no later than the end of November.

By going with the safe pair of hands, the party seemed to demonstrate its confidence that it could win in the fall election despite choosing a leader with lackluster public support.After a year in which voters grew increasingly frustrated with the government’s handling of the pandemic and associated economic woes, the party seems to be counting on the opposition’s weakness and the public’s tolerance for the status quo. During the campaign, Mr. Kishida appeared to acknowledge some public dissatisfaction as he promised to introduce a “new capitalism” and encourage companies to distribute more of their profits to middle-class workers.



Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/28/world/asia/who-is-fumio-kishida-japan-ldp.html

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Interesting to see in light of Germany's recent elections and of course ours.

[rpannier]

1. I think it was a good choice

I prefer Kishida for economic reasons. I have watched him speak a couple of times and he is open to going back to the old labor system in Japan -- 1 year as a non-permanent employee and then after that companies have to make a decision. None of this 2, 3, 4, 5 year as temporary crap. Kishida is a good administrator (but then again, that's what we all thought of Suga and he was a disaster).
Kono is more socially liberal; he favors gay marriage and women keeping their family name when marrying. Kishida has said he isn't there on gay marriage, but seems open to it.
Kono counts among his international friends Obama, but it didn't seem to help him within the LDP. Partly I think that's because it's been 5 years since Obama left office, so his friendship counts for less than it might have 4 years ago if Biden were President -- which makes sense
As to the part about the opposition's weakness, "A used teabag running as an LDP member could beat the main opposition and most other parties. The other parties are often just as corrupt, but they are seen as less competent to run a national government.
The exception is the JCP. But they refuse to change their name. They poll as the 2nd most trusted party and are viewed as the least corrupt. They are also the world's worst Communist Party -- which helps them. The representative that borders our area is JCP and he says the Party is more interested in local governing rather than nationally as PM

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Thanks for the insight!

I think due to the pandemic, we are teetering on an economic precipice and I expect that is factoring in on who can best navigate that quagmire. We are already seeing the supply chain issues, so you need someone mindful of the connection between a people disaster and economic disaster.

[soryang]

3. Kishida supports doubling Japan's defense budget

At least he said that at one point, according to Hosaka Yuji, a Japanese studies professor in Seoul.

t seemed to me, that as soon as Suga's fate was sealed, Kishi and Takaichi started making foreign policy moves in terms of initiating security commitments in East Asia that appear unprecedented. Think they will stay in the cabinet?

[betsuni]

4. Suga always looked so tired and uncomfortable, like he hated being PM and just wanted to

go home and go to bed. Now he can.