Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s tough summer ended with his exit

It’s been a tough summer for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

A series of scandals involving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida’s closest allies within it, and even his family, had put his job on the line.

But the fact that this happened at a time when the cost of living was rising and discontent within the LDP was growing did not help the embattled leader.

His approval ratings had fallen to an all-time low. And amid all this, a test loomed—the party leadership race scheduled for September.

Some observers said he would fight for another term, but it was not particularly shocking. When I announce He is withdrawing from the race for the party leadership — which also means he will not become prime minister in September when the LDP chooses a new leader.

But his diplomatic victories—an ambitious budget to expand the military, deepening ties with the United States, and a historic détente with South Korea—could not save him.

“The obvious first step to show that the Liberal Democrats will change is for me to step aside,” Corbyn, 67, told reporters on Wednesday in his usual calm manner.

Except for his words, everything else about him suggests that things are going on as usual.

Veteran politician Fumio Kishida took over the top job in 2021. His predecessor Yoshihide Suga resigned after just one year in office, following poor approval ratings as Japan faced one of its worst waves of Covid-19.

A month after taking office, Mr. Kishida led the LDP into a general election and emerged as the head of a winning coalition.

Those who know him well – and have worked with him – tell the BBC he is a respectable, intelligent man, and a fairly conservative politician. Others say he is a brilliant strategist, and one we should not underestimate so easily.

Kishida’s easygoing style belies the fact that he can be stubborn and unpredictable. Consider, for example, his risky and sudden decision to dissolve his own faction in the party, which led to the disintegration of other factions—cliques as old as the party itself, a crucial source of patronage and money.

For months, observers described his position as unsustainable, partly because of the hesitation with which he dealt with the controversies surrounding him. He held on to his post, even as rebellion grew within the ranks of the LDP. But the writing was on the wall.

“People are very tired now,” Hiromi Murakami, a political science professor at Japan’s Temple University, said weeks before Kishida decided to resign. “Problems have piled up. It’s not just about the fundraising scandal.”

The LDP began the year mired in controversy. In December, four cabinet ministers, including key allies of the prime minister, and several deputy ministers resigned amid allegations that LDP leaders were embezzling millions of dollars in party funds.

A prosecutor’s investigation revealed more details, and the LDP eventually said 85 of its members had failed to properly report their income.

It was the latest in a series of controversies that have marred his tenure: the previous year, he fired his son, who was his executive secretary, after it emerged he had abused his position to host a party at the prime minister’s residence.

The LDP was already reeling from headlines over its links to the controversial Unification Church, which has been linked to the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

As 2024 approached, the consequences of all these scandals grew. And there were new scandals.

In April, the Liberal Democrats lost two seats in by-elections when two MPs resigned from the party – one accused of vote-buying, the other implicated in a fundraising investigation.

Then in July, the Defense Department was rocked by allegations of mishandling classified and sensitive information, harassment of subordinates and fraud. A series of disciplinary actions, suspensions and even firings followed.

By then, the LDP’s popularity had hit an all-time low — 19 percent, its lowest since 2000, according to a survey by the daily Asahi Shimbun.

Mr Kishida has pledged to address the crisis “directly”, but the way he has handled it has also come under criticism.

He appeared rarely before the Ethics Committee, but he seemed uncertain and reluctant to say much.

In June, his coalition passed reforms to election financing, but they were met with public skepticism. “These reforms didn’t work even though they spent a lot of time on them,” says Professor Murakami. “It’s too late, and he should have done something earlier.”

Also in June, he tried to appease disgruntled voters and mitigate the impact of inflation with a temporary tax relief plan. But people did not think this plan was enough.

“The situation has been constantly tense… I found myself grappling with many issues at home and abroad,” Mr. Kishida assessed his tenure at the end of June, when he reached the 1,000-day mark.

June also saw rumours of “post-Kishida” candidates emerge – loud enough to appear in the national media – as dissatisfied party colleagues feared an unpopular leader would be on the prime ministerial ticket ahead of next year’s general election.

“[They] “I think if he’s in power, they’re going to collapse. They’re in a panic,” Jeff Kingston, a professor of Asian studies and history at Temple University, told the BBC at the time.

Although there have been many corruption scandals in the past, this latest scandal comes at a painful time.

“The economic situation has affected people’s mentality,” said Professor Murakami. “People have suffered a lot from [Covid] The crisis. They can barely pay their bills. But now [they see] “Politicians with huge sums of money won’t pay taxes on it” – referring to the Liberal Democrats’ admission that some MPs had not reported their income correctly.

Although his popularity at home has been in steep decline, Kishida has been a major success on the international stage. He was Japan’s longest-serving foreign minister before becoming prime minister. As prime minister, he hosted the Group of Seven summit last year, visited Ukraine, and thawed relations with South Korea, a crucial ally against both China and North Korea.

Relations with Washington are as strong as ever. He addressed Congress earlier this year at the invitation of President Biden — and received a standing ovation.

“Thank you,” he told his audience. “I have never received such a warm applause from the Japanese parliament.” [parliament].

In Japan, Japanese media criticized the visit, with one headline reading: “Kishida should not use summit as tool for domestic politics.”

If that was the goal, it didn’t work. Mr. Kishida was bogged down in fighting on too many fronts—and his party and voters were running out of patience.

“People are voting on issues that are in their financial interests,” said Professor Kingston. “It’s great that he’s going to go around NATO, the EU and the US. Ultimately, I want to see more income in my portfolio.”

Mr Kishida said the LDP needed a fresh start – and needed to convince the Japanese people that it was capable of change.

The opposition is still too weak and divided to be a viable option, but there is a great deal of mistrust within the ruling party.

Can a different face at the top unite the LDP and repair its tarnished image? Only September will tell.