SINGAPORE: With Fumio Kishida last week announcing that he will not re-contest for a second term as leader of the incumbent Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), his tenure as Japan’s prime minister will end next month after three years in power.
The timing of Kishida’s announcement to step down may have come across as abrupt, in the middle of an otherwise quiet Obon holiday season in Japan amid a megaquake warning in the country. But speculation about his resignation has been rife for a while.
For many months, the Kishida administration has struggled to contain the fallout from a string of corruption scandals and an inability to repair the LDP’s public image. Public approval hovers at near record lows for the long-ruling party, which has been in power almost continuously since 1955, dipping below 20 per cent in some polls.
At the press conference to announce his exit, Kishida cited the need for him as leader of the party to take responsibility, placing great emphasis on “change” and “recovering trust and support from the public”.
He spoke about the need to “show that the LDP has changedafb club casino, and (his) decision … is the first sign … that the LDP is changing”.
File photo. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Aug 14, 2024. (Photo: Philip Fong/Pool via Reuters)