Tokyo — Fumio Kishida was re-elected as Japanese prime minister on Wednesday after the ruling party won a big victory in a major parliamentary election.
Fumio Kishida was elected by Parliament about a month ago and called for a swift election for the LDP to secure 261 seats in the 465-seat House of Representatives. legislation.
The October 31st victory is seen as a mandate from government voters a few weeks ago to increase his grip on power, tackle a pandemic-stricken economy, control the coronavirus, and face other challenges. I did. Kishida said he thought the result was a signal that voters chose stability over change.
After re-election, Fumio Kishida said, “From now on, we will focus on swiftly tackling various policy measures.”
Late Wednesday, he formed his second cabinet by maintaining everything except one of the ministers appointed when he took office on October 4. ..
Fumio Kishida was chosen by the Liberal Democratic Party a month ago as a safe and conservative choice. If former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was in power, they were afraid of major election losses. Suga resigned just one year after taking office because of his response to the coronavirus pandemic and his insistence on hosting the Tokyo Olympics despite concerns about a surge in the virus.
More than expected election results may give the Kishida government more power and time to work on campaign promises, including strengthening Japan’s defense capabilities.
Fumio Kishida’s grip on power may also be strengthened by a change in the cabinet.
Former Minister of Education Yoshimasa Hayashi will be appointed as the new Foreign Minister, and former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Mogi will be appointed second in the ruling party.
Mr. Mogi voted for Fumio Kishida in the party leader election and will replace the party’s heavyweight Akira Amari, who resigned due to a bribery scandal and unimpressive election performance.
Many of Fumio Kishida’s ministers are new ministers, but important posts came from influential parties, including those led by conservative former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former Finance Minister Taro Aso.
Under his “new capitalist” economic policy, Kishida promises to create a self-reinforcing cycle of growth and improved economic distribution and increase income.
Immediately after Fumio Kishida’s election, the challenge is to put together a major economic stimulus package of around $ 30 trillion ($ 265 billion), including cash payments to be announced next week. He also aims to pass an additional budget by the end of this year to fund the project.
Fumio Kishida will also give an overview of pandemic countermeasures later this week.
As a former Foreign Minister, Fumio Kishida will continue to prioritize the Japan-US Security Alliance and “free and open Indo-Pacific” with other democratic countries including the United States, Australia, and India, which are members of the Japan-US-Australia-India Strategic Dialogue. We will promote our vision.
Fumio Kishida emphasizes the importance of stronger military power in China’s growing power and influence, and concerns over North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats.
He opposed changes to the law requiring couples to adopt a single name. This forces most women to abandon the maiden’s name. The Liberal Democratic Party is widespread in contrast to gender equality and diversity.
Mari Yamaguchi
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