Fumio Kishida confirmed as Japan’s new prime minister, elections set for October 31
- Kishida takes office after being formally elected as Japan’s new prime minister at a special session of parliament, succeeding Yoshihide Suga
- Kishida unveiled a cabinet line-up featuring allies of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, ensuring the influence of the latter’s conservative base
The surprise move, amid widespread expectations for a poll in November, appears to be aimed at exploiting a traditional honeymoon period accorded to new governments and a sharp drop in the number of coronavirus infections.
Outgoing prime minister Yoshihide Suga enjoyed support ratings of about 70 per cent soon after taking office about a year ago, but was pummelled by criticism of his handling of the pandemic, leading him to make way for a new face to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) through the election.
Kishida, 64, a former foreign minister with an image as a low-key consensus builder, beat out three contenders last week to lead the party and will become prime minister as it has a majority in parliament.
At his first news conference as prime minister on Monday, Kishida said he will dissolve the House of Representatives on October 14, the final day of an extraordinary Diet session, setting the stage for election campaigning to start on October 19.
“Kishida’s not wasting any time at all,” Tobias Harris, a senior fellow of the Centre for American Progress, said on Twitter.
