Soft-spoken consensus builder Fumio Kishida to become Japan's PM

Likely to be voted to the top post on Monday; has called for stimulus of over 30 trillion yen

Former Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida won the governing party’s leadership election on Wednesday and is set to become the next prime minister, facing the tasks of reviving a pandemic-hit economy and ensuring a strong alliance with Washington to counter growing regional security risks.
 
Kishida replaces outgoing party leader Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is stepping down after serving only one year.
 
As new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida is certain to be elected the next prime minister on Monday in parliament, where his party and its coalition partner control both houses.
 

In his victory speech, Kishida vowed to tackle “national crises” including Covid-19, the pandemic-battered economy and the declining population and birthrate. He said he would pursue “important issues related to Japan's future” through a vision of “a free and open Indo-Pacific” that counters China's assertiveness in the region.

 
Kishida defeated popular vaccinations minister Taro Kono in a runoff after finishing only one vote ahead of him in the first round, in which none of the four candidates, including two women, was able to win a majority.
 
In a landslide 257-170 victory in the second round, Kishida received support from party heavyweights who apparently chose stability over change advocated by Kono, who is known as something of a maverick and a reformist.
 
Kishida is under pressure to change the party's high-handed reputation, worsened by Suga, who angered the public over his handling of the pandemic and insistence on holding the Summer Olympics in Tokyo despite surging infections.

 
The long-ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party desperately needs to quickly turn around plunging public support ahead of lower house elections coming within two months.
 
Kishida has proposed a spending package of more than 30 trillion yen ($270 billion), and on Wednesday he said that stimulus  must be compiled by the year-end. Kishida is expected to form a new cabinet and reshuffle the LDP executive in early October.
 
 The 64-year-old former foreign minister was once seen as an indecisive moderate. Lately, however, he has shifted to become a security and diplomatic hawk as he sought support from influential conservatives to win the party election.

 
Kishida has called for a further increase in Japan’s defence capability and budget, and vowed to stand up to China in tensions over self-ruled Taiwan that China claims as part of its territory, and Beijing's crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.               

What’s next?

Here are the next steps and important dates in Japan’s political calendar.
 
What is at stake?
 

• The new PM will have to deal with an economy battered by emergency restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus, which is only now starting to slow.
• The new prime minister must also call an election this year.

 

What's happens next?
 

• Parliament will be called into session on Monday to elect the next PM. The candidate who wins the majority of votes cast by the Lower and Upper Houses will get the job. In case of a disagreement between the two Houses, the Lower House decision will prevail. Given the LDP's majority in the lower chamber, the LDP leader will likely be elected PM.

 
When is the next general election?
 

• The term of the Lower House runs until October 21, meaning a general election will be held this year.
• The PM reserves the right to dissolve the lower house and call a snap election. 
• Media have reported, quoting LDP executives, that the lower chamber will likely be dissolved in mid-October, with the election slated for either November 7 or November 14.

(Sakura Murakami | Reuters)