Former Japanese minister of foreign affairs Fumio Kishida yesterday won the leadership election of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and is set to become the nation’s next prime minister.
Kishida replaces Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as party leader, with Suga stepping down after serving only one year since taking office in September last year.
As leader of the LDP, Kishida is certain to be elected the next prime minister on Monday next week in parliament, where his party and its coalition partner control both houses.
Photo: Reuters
In his victory speech, Kishida vowed to tackle Japan’s “national crises,” including COVID-19, an economy battered by the pandemic, and the declining population and birthrate, while pursuing “important issues related to Japan’s future” through a vision of “a free and open Indo-Pacific” that counters China’s assertiveness in the region.
Kishida beat Japanese Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform Taro Kono, who is in charge of overseeing the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination program, in a runoff after finishing only one vote ahead of him in the first round, in which none of the four candidates, including two women, won a majority.
Kishida’s 257-170 win in the second round showed that he garnered more support from party heavyweights, who apparently chose stability over change advocated by Kono.
Kishida said that he has heard from many people complaining that they were being ignored.
“I felt our democracy is in a crisis,” he said.
“I, Fumio Kishida, have a special skill of listening to people. I am determined to make an effort toward making a more open LDP and a bright future for Japan together with you all,” he added.
He has called for a further increase in Japan’s defense capability and budget, and vowed to stand up to China in tensions over Taiwan and Beijing’s crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.
However, little change is expected in key diplomatic and security policies under the new leader, said Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo.
Kishida also supports close Japan-US security ties, and partnerships with other like-minded democracies in Asia and Europe, in part to counter China and North Korea.
Specifically, Kishida has said that wants to beef up Japan’s coast guard and backs passing of a resolution condemning China’s treatment of members of the Uighur minority.
He wants to appoint a prime ministerial aide to monitor their human rights situation.
“Taiwan is the biggest question for me,” said Jeffrey Hornung, senior political scientist at RAND Corp.
The outgoing Suga administration had been public in having conversations about Taiwan, Hornung said.
“It will be interesting to see whether the new leader takes this approach, such as advocating for Taiwan’s inclusion in” the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, he said.
Taiwan last week applied to join the trade agreement.
Additional reporting by Reuters and staff writer
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS