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Fumio Kishida

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Fumio Kishida
岸田 文雄
Fumio Kishida in 2017
President of the Liberal Democratic Party
Assuming office
30 September 2021
SucceedingYoshihide Suga
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
26 December 2012 – 3 August 2017
Prime MinisterShinzō Abe
Preceded byKōichirō Genba
Succeeded byTarō Kōno
Acting Minister of Defense
In office
28 July 2017 – 3 August 2017
Prime MinisterShinzō Abe
Preceded byTomomi Inada
Succeeded byItsunori Onodera
Minister of State for Consumers
In office
18 June 2008 – 1 August 2008
Prime MinisterYasuo Fukuda
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded bySeiko Noda
Minister of State for Space
In office
6 February 2008 – 1 August 2008
Prime MinisterYasuo Fukuda
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded bySeiko Noda
Minister of State for Okinawa and the Northern Territories
In office
27 August 2007 – 1 August 2008
Prime MinisterShinzō Abe
Yasuo Fukuda
Preceded bySanae Takaichi
Succeeded byMotoo Hayashi
Minister of State for Regulatory Reform
In office
27 August 2007 – 1 August 2008
Prime MinisterShinzō Abe
Yasuo Fukuda
Preceded byYoshimi Watanabe
Succeeded byKaoru Yosano
Minister of State for Science, Technology and Quality of Life
In office
27 August 2007 – 1 August 2008
Prime MinisterShinzō Abe
Yasuo Fukuda
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded bySeiko Noda
Member of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
18 July 1993
ConstituencyHiroshima 1st district
Personal details
Born (1957-07-29) 29 July 1957 (age 66)
Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party
EducationKaisei Academy
Alma materWaseda University (LLB)

Fumio Kishida (岸田 文雄, Kishida Fumio, born 29 July 1957) is a Japanese politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan from 2012 to 2017. A member of the House of Representatives, he also served as the Chairman of the Policy Research Council of the LDP. He won the 2021 LDP leadership election,[1] and is due to become Japan's Prime Minister in October 2021.

Early life and education

Kishida was born to a political family in Shibuya, Tokyo on 29 July 1957.[2][3][4] His father and grandfather were former politicians who were lower house members, and also, former prime minister Kiichi Miyazawa is a distant relative of his.[4] He went to elementary school in the New York City borough of Queens because his father was posted to a job in the city at the time.[5]

Kishida studied law at Waseda University and graduated in 1982.[3] At Waseda, he was friends with future politician Takeshi Iwaya.[6]

Political career

After working at now-defunct Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan and then as a secretary to a member of the House of Representatives, Kishida was elected to the House of Representatives in the 1993 general election, representing the Hiroshima 1st district.[7]

Kishida served as Minister of Okinawa Affairs from 2007 to 2008, firstly in the Abe Cabinet and later in the Fukuda cabinet.[8] He was appointed state minister in charge of consumer affairs and food safety in the cabinet of then prime minister Yasuo Fukuda in 2008.[4] Kishida was also state minister in charge of science and technology in the Fukuda cabinet.[8]

He was close to Makoto Koga, leader of the Kōchikai faction, one of the oldest inside the LDP, and assumed control of it in October 2012 after Makoto Koga announced his retirement from politics.[4]

On 29 September 2021, Fumio Kishida defeated Taro Kono in a runoff vote to become the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and replaced the outgoing party leader Yoshihide Suga. He received a total of 257 votes, from 249 parliament members and eight rank-and-file members, to become Japan's next Prime Minister.[9]

Abe government

Kishida with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, February 2017

Following the LDP's victory in the 2012 general election, Kishida was named foreign minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe on 26 December 2012.[7][10] He became the longest-serving foreign minister in postwar history, unseating Abe's father Shintaro Abe.[11] He helped to arrange U.S. President Barack Obama's historic visit to Hiroshima in 2015, and gained attention in 2017 when he appeared alongside comedian Piko Taro to promote a UN program.[6]

He was not in favor of the appointment of Toshihiro Nikai as LDP secretary-general by Abe in 2016 against the wishes of Kishida's own faction, which was seen as an attempt at blocking generational change inside the LDP.[12]

In 2017, Kishida left the Cabinet to take over the chairmanship of the LDP Policy Research Council, a position traditionally seen as a stepping stone to leadership of the party.[13] He sought this position in order to improve his chances to succeed Abe, as the foreign minister post had relatively little influence within the party.[11]

Kishida considered running in the 2018 LDP presidential election, but he was persuaded by Abe not to run, with a suggestion that Abe would later support Kishida as his successor. By mid-2020, several senior LDP lawmakers had shifted their support from Kishida to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso was quoted as saying "Kishida is for peacetime, not for troubled times."[14] One factor in this shift was an unsuccessful proposal by Kishida to provide a 300,000 yen stimulus payment to households during the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] After Suga won the 2020 LDP presidential election and became Prime Minister, Kishida was not offered a position in the Suga cabinet, although his faction obtained two cabinet seats.[16]

Policy views

Kishida is seen as dovish on foreign policy and lukewarm about revising the pacifist constitution.[17][18] Following the political philosophy of his own faction, Kishida has pledged a “humane diplomacy” based on the Peace Constitution, the Japan-U.S. alliance, and the Self-Defense Forces and that he will seek to strengthen Japan-U.S. relations and to promote the free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy while counterbalancing Chinese political assertiveness and military presence in the region.[18]

Regarding Chinese influence over Taiwan and Hong Kong, Kishida has stated that the Taiwan Strait may be the “next major diplomatic problem” following “China’s clampdown on Hong Kong” and that Japan should seek more cooperation with Taiwan[19]

Despite being the leader of the moderate Kōchikai faction,[18][20] Kishida like many other LDP members of parliament is affiliated to the parliamentary league of the ultra-conservative organization Nippon Kaigi.[21]

During the 2021 LDP presidential race he called for Japan to strive for a new form of capitalism to reduce income disparity saying neo-liberalism and deregulation have widened economic gaps in society.[22]

Kishida is in favor of retaining nuclear power technology, which he says should be considered as a clean energy option, while also calling for the setting up of $90.7 billion university fund to further stimulate science and promotion of renewable energy.[22]

Being a representative from Hiroshima, Kishida has consistently advocated for Japanese diplomacy to promote nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).[18]

He stated support for discussions toward allowing married Japanese couples to choose between unified single surnames or separate last names.[23]

Personal life

Both Kishida's grandfather, Masaki Kishida, and his father, Fumitake Kishida, were members of the House of Representatives, and his cousin is former Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry minister Yoichi Miyazawa.[24]

Honours

References

  1. ^ "Fumio Kishida enters LDP leadership race as party sets voting plan". The Japan Times. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  2. ^ Akimoto, Daisuke (7 September 2021). "The Arrival of Kishida Diplomacy?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Fumio Kishida". Kante'. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d "Profiles". The Japan Times. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Japan's Next Prime Minister: Who Are the Candidates to Succeed Yoshihide Suga?". Wall Street Journal. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b Reynolds, Isabel (20 July 2017). "Abe's Low-Key Foreign Minister Watched as Potential Rival". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Profiles of key ministers in Abe's new Cabinet". The Asahi Shimbun. 26 December 2012. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Profile: Foreign Minister Kishida boasts background in Okinawa affairs". House of Japan. 27 December 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Fumio Kishida likely to become Japan's next Prime Minister after winning leadership election". CNN. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Abe elected premier, launches Cabinet". Daily Yomuiru Online. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  11. ^ a b Bosack, Michael (9 July 2018). "Will Kishida Challenge Abe's Leadership?". Tokyo Review. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Kishida goes all out for Japan's top job". East Asia Forum. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida set to take key ruling party post: NHK". Reuters. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Doubts grow in LDP over Fumio Kishida's ability to succeed Abe". The Japan Times. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  15. ^ Sakaguchi, Yukihiro (26 June 2020). "Race to replace Abe threatens stability of Japanese politics". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  16. ^ Bosack, Michael MacArthur (16 September 2020). "Breaking down Suga's picks for his first Cabinet". The Japan Times. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Factbox: Possible candidates to become Japan's next prime minister". Reuters. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  18. ^ a b c d "The Arrival of Kishida Diplomacy?". The Diplomat. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Fumio Kishida, top contender to lead Japan, warns Taiwan is 'next big problem'". The Japan Times. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Kochikai of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party and Its Evolution After the Cold War". Korean Journal of International Studies. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Abe's reshuffle promotes right-wingers" (Korea Joongang Daily - 2014/09/05)
  22. ^ a b "Kishida says new form of capitalism needed to end disparity, recover from pandemic". Asahi Shimbun. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  23. ^ "LDP candidate Kishida favors debate toward separate surnames for Japanese couples". Mainichi Shimbun. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Japan minister support staff 'put sex club on expenses'". BBC. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  25. ^ Decoraties Staatsbezoeken Japan en Republiek Korea Archived 4 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine - website of the Dutch Royal House

External links

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Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2012–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Defense
Acting
2017 		Succeeded by
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