Japan: Fumio Kishida becomes new Prime Minister after the withdrawal of his predecessor – franceinfo

Japan has a new prime minister. Fumio Kishida was elected by the lower house of the Japanese parliament on Monday, October 4, and will present his government during the day. He replaces Yoshihide Suga, from the same party, who had given up standing because of his unpopularity.

On Wednesday, Fumio Kishida had clearly won the internal election for the presidency of his party, the Liberal Democratic Party, right-wing conservative party qui has dominated Japanese political life since 1955. A victory that left no doubt about his appointment as head of the new government.

Aged 64, he is presented as consensual and reassuring if not charismatic. Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, militant of nuclear disarmament of the world, he had failed to become Prime Minister a year ago against Yoshihide Suga.

The latter announced on September 3 that he would not stand for re-election in his party’s internal election, thus giving up the post of head of government after only one year in power. He justified this decision by the need to focus on the fight against Covid-19, but was facing record unpopularity for his management of the pandemic and the maintenance of the Tokyo Olympics.

Fumio Kishida, who has pledged a massive new fiscal stimulus plan and reduced social inequalities, is in favor of reviving civilian nuclear power, and says he has no “reached the point of accepting same-sex marriage”.