It is a win that will have wiped away the pain of the defeat he experienced a year ago.
Fumio Kishida, the former foreign minister who was once former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s handpicked successor, won the Liberal Democratic Party presidential
election Wednesday, becoming the presumptive successor to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
With no candidates obtaining a majority in the first round, the runoff was a head-to-head race between first-place Kishida and second-place Taro Kono, the
vaccine czar and No. 1 choice for prime minister in public opinion polls.
In the runoff, Kishida — who garnered 256 votes in the first round (146 votes from LDP lawmakers and 110 votes from rank-and-file members) — defeated Kono by 257
votes to 170.
The new LDP president ran against Suga in last year’s election to choose Abe’s replacement. At that time, Abe threw his weight behind Suga, even though he had long
considered Kishida to be a worthy successor. This time around, the longest-serving prime minister in the country actively promoted Takaichi, whose conservative ideology aligns with his.
Although his profile has increased through party leadership bids, Kishida's name recognition is still mediocre at best, making it uncertain whether he can capture
the public’s imagination as LDP leader ahead of a general election slated to be held by November.
Both the party and the public will be scrutinizing Kishida’s aptitude as a trustworthy leader capable of maintaining a majority in the Lower House and instilling a
sense of political stability at a time when the nation is wrestling with the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing security threats from North Korea and China.
Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a campaign speech in Tokyo on Sept. 17. | POOL / VIA REUTERS
Afterward, he will immediately form a Cabinet and appoint ministers.
Among the four candidates, he was the first to throw his hat into the ring, declaring his candidacy in late August at a time when Suga was still eager to seek re-election despite slipping public approval.
Kishida was seen as the candidate who posed the most serious challenge to Suga at that time.
He also took a swing at Toshihiro Nikai, the party’s longest-serving secretary-general, proposing a term limit of up to three consecutive years for party executives
— a declaration of war against Nikai.
Some lawmakers outside of Nikai's faction have been irritated by the secretary-general's favoritism toward members of his own group, as well as his unwillingness to
relinquish authority. As such, Kishida's move was hailedby LDP lawmakers frustrated with the secretary-general, but it predictably provoked
Nikai. It also prodded Suga into action, with the prime minister attempting to squash Kishida’s momentum by proposing an executive reshuffle and letting Nikai go.
But Kishida's strategy for seizing the LDP presidency — making party reform his biggest selling point — fell apart after Suga announced he wouldn’t seek re-election. Kishida then focused on getting the
support of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the de facto leader of the largest LDP faction. On top of his own faction members, Kishida earned the backing of a decent number of members of Abe's
group, known as the Hosoda faction. Kishida also attracted support from lawmakers belonging to the Aso faction, even though Kono is a member.
Kishida might have become a more
dynamic politician since last year, but questions about his management skills remain.
Kishida might have become a more dynamic politician since last year, but questions about his management skills remain.
When he was the party’s policy council chairman last year, he dropped the ball when acting as a liaison between the Prime Minister’s Office, the LDP and its junior
coalition partner Komeito on emergency cash handouts for people amid the pandemic. The money was eventually given to all residents, even though it was initially proposed as targeted
payments.
The blunder not only raised questions about his ability to coordinate with stakeholders but also cast doubt on the Abe administration’s pandemic response.
Although Kishida leads a
traditionally dovish faction, he has talked about Taiwan being the “next big problem” and touched on revising the Self-Defense Forces law to ease the way for the overseas dispatch of the SDF
on evacuation missions. The former foreign minister has also called for enhancing Japan’s missile defense system and intelligence gathering, as well as amending the national security
strategy.
When he was foreign minister from 2012 to 2017, he coordinated U.S. President Barack Obama’s landmark visit to Hiroshima — Kishida’s electoral district — as well as
an agreement with South Korea over wartime “comfort women,” a euphemism for those who suffered under Japan’s military brothel system before and during World War II. That pact has been in limbo
during the administration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
In the realm of economics, Kishida has vowed to shift away from neoliberal policies, which he says have brought growth but widened the wealth gap — something that
was exacerbated by the pandemic.