(Image source from: Twitter.com/JPN_PMO)
What's happening in other nations is raising concerns over the anti-government protests. It was Bangladesh earlier, where the prime minister faced severe backlash and was ousted out from the country. Now, it's Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is facing severe disappointment among the public.
The unpopularity started with a pandemic followed by a series of scandals over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). His government got only a 20 per cent rating, leading to disastrous erosion.
Fumio Kishida is from the Hiroshima region. He lost almost all his family members in the Hiroshima bombing and had always supported the non-proliferation and disarmament. He is from a political background, his grandfather served in the House of Representatives, the lower house in Japan. He worked in a credit bank in Japan, popularly known as Shinsei Bank before entering into politics. In 1993 he was elected for the lower house and served as a foreign affairs minister in the Prime Minister cabinet from 2012 to 2017. He was the longest-serving foreign minister.
After defeating Taro Kono and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Kishida became the prime minister in September 2021. In 30 years of the Kochikai faction of the LDP, he is the first prime minister from the group.
Reasons behind Kishida's resignation:
Over the past years, Japan has seen many scandals. These scandals severely tarnished the government’s image. The Nikkei poll has showcased that the government’s approval rate is only 20 per cent and Prime Minister Kishida believes that “ Politics cannot function without the public's trust”
He took the initiative and said he would first step down and the party would have an alternative.
Corruption Scandals that Broke out :
In December 2023, The LDP’s sweiwa seisaku kenyukai, shinsekai and Ko Chikai factions failed to show the accounts of 600 million yen campaign cash. The public, who are already under pressure with the high living costs, has been defeated in three parliamentary by-elections, which were held in April.
Church Scandal: Kishida failed to convey the relationship between the controversial Unification Church, which was alleged for the assassination of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 July.
Economic Policy: He put an end to the deflationary economy, raised wages and also promoted investments, which is new capitalism. He also replaced neoliberal policy.
The weakening of Yen and public policies has somehow brought the yen to a four-decade low against the dollar. The yen value has caused a drastic increase in the prices of food and imports like fuel..
Japan is also facing the problem of a low birth rate and a rapid increase in the ageing population.
After all this Kishida has stepped down and now Japan will have their new leader from LDP. Mostly the digital minister LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi and former LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba are the replacements according to Japan Times.
