Japan's ruling party selects Fumio Kishida as leader, presumptive prime minister


Japan's longtime ruling Liberal Democratic Party selected former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida as its new leader Wednesday, ensuring he will become prime minister when parliament votes next Monday. Kishida won a rare competitive internal party election, beating vaccinations minister Taro Kono by one vote in a four-way contest that was ultimately decided by LDP lawmakers. One of his first challenges as prime minister will be to lead the LDP, which has governed Japan for most of the past 66 years, through national elections set for mid-November.
The LDP's popularity, which sagged under outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's handing of the COVID-19 pandemic and Tokyo Olympics, is rebounding amid a successful vaccination drive that led the government to end a state of emergency. Kishida, 64, is leader of an older LDP faction of patricians who rose in the party through top bureaucratic posts and/or family connections. Kono is more popular among younger LDP members and the party rank-and-file.
Kishida, who was foreign minister from 2012 to 2017, comes from a political dynasty based in Hiroshima, which he, his father, and grandfather all represented in parliament. He is expected to continue favoring the U.S.-Japan alliance and vocally promotes nuclear nonproliferation, but said during the campaign that Japan needs to consider building a defensive missile-strike capability to deter China, North Korea, and other potential enemies. As foreign minister, Kishida brokered a deal with South Korea over Korean sex slaves during World War II, though it later fell apart, and helped arrange former President Barack Obama's historic 2016 visit to Hiroshima.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Domestically, "although the LDP is generally seen as conservative and pro-business," The Wall Street Journal reports, "Kishida staked a more left-leaning position on the economy, at least in rhetoric. He called for a 'new Japanese-style capitalism' that would redistribute wealth more aggressively to shrink the gap between rich and poor, which he said had widened during the pandemic."
"If the profits from growth are monopolized by a few people, the gap will widen even further," Kishida told the Journal. "It's not just about growth, it's about distribution. Distribution equals income."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
October 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being released
The Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia James
Speed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in Chicago
Speed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leaders
Speed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats