Major earthquake in Japanese politics! Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announces: will not run for re-election! Who will be his successor?

According to Xinhua News Agency, NHK reported that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decided on the 14th not to participate in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election scheduled for September.

According to CCTV News, on August 14th, journalist learned that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his intention not to participate in the LDP presidential election to LDP members.

CCTV International News cited NHK's report, stating that this also means that after the new LDP leader is elected, Kishida will resign as Prime Minister.

Fumio Kishida will hold a press conference at 11:30 local time on the 14th.

The Nikkei 225 index erased its previous 1% gain and fell 0.2% as of the time of publication.

The latest poll results from Japan's "Mainichi Shimbun" show that Kishida's cabinet approval rating is 21%, staying below 30% for 13 consecutive months in the "danger zone"; the disapproval rating is 73%, staying above 70% for 9 consecutive months. Faced with persistently low approval ratings, not only opposition parties are demanding Kishida's resignation, but there are also public calls within the LDP.

Poll Shows 70% of People Do Not Want Kishida to Serve Another Term

According to Xinhua News Agency on July 22nd, the latest poll results in Japan show that 70% of Japanese people do not want Fumio Kishida to serve another term as Prime Minister, and over 80% of people believe he did not fulfill his responsibility as LDP party leader regarding the "black money" scandal.

"Mainichi Shimbun" conducted a nationwide telephone survey on topics such as the LDP presidential election on the 20th and 21st, receiving 1020 valid responses, with the results announced on the 21st. When asked whether they hoped Kishida would participate in the LDP presidential election scheduled for September and serve another term as Prime Minister, 70% of respondents answered that they hoped he would step down, while 18% of respondents said they could not answer.

The survey also showed that when asked whether Kishida fulfilled his responsibility as LDP party leader regarding the "black money" scandal, 83% of respondents believed he did not fulfill his responsibility.

At the end of last year, the LDP was embroiled in the "black money" scandal. Several factions issued sales targets for political fundraising party tickets to their affiliated parliamentarians, with the "excess" portion of the proceeds being returned to the parliamentarians in the form of "kickbacks," which were not reported in the faction's financial reports or the parliamentarians' political fund reports, thus becoming unregulated secret funds.

In April this year, the LDP disciplined 39 individuals involved. The faction led by Kishida was also implicated in the "black money" scandal, but Kishida himself did not face any disciplinary action, leading to widespread criticism.

It is worth noting that, according to Xinhua News Agency, on June 19th, Fumio Kishida also stated that he has no plans to dissolve the House of Representatives and call for a re-election in the near future.

According to Kyodo News, during a parliamentary debate attended by senior members of various parties that day, opposition Constitutional Democratic Party leader Kenji Eda criticized Kishida for not taking corrective measures on the LDP's political funds scandal and urged him to dissolve the House of Representatives and call for a re-election. Kishida responded, "I will focus on achieving results on those urgent issues... without considering other matters."Kishida stated that he "must fulfill the responsibility as the President of the Liberal Democratic Party to rebuild the public's trust in politics."

"Kishida Turnover" Trend within the LDP

Since the end of last year, the LDP has been hit by a series of scandals such as "black money" and "sexy parties", leading to a continuous decline in approval ratings. Calls for Kishida and the LDP to step down from the political arena have been growing.

According to the China Youth Daily, recently, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is a member of the LDP, stated in an interview with the magazine "Bungei Shunju" that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida did not take responsibility for the "black money" political scandal. The monthly magazine "Hanada", released on June 26, also published an interview with Suga, where he once again emphasized Kishida's responsibility in the "black money" political scandal. Suga bluntly stated, "Prime Minister Kishida should take responsibility." Suga, who has always positioned himself as independent within the LDP, is seen by the Japanese media as directly calling for Kishida to resign.

There are also some within the LDP who hope Kishida will step down as President. On June 16, former Minister of General Affairs and member of the "Asou faction" Yo Akira Saito publicly stated, "Someone must ultimately take responsibility for the current situation." Young members of the "Mogi faction" have also called for Prime Minister Kishida to step down. On June 20, Representative Jun Tsushima stated at a meeting of LDP members, "President Kishida should come and address us." On June 22, Representative Kan Higashikuni stated at a party meeting in Hokkaido, "There are plenty of talents within the LDP, and Prime Minister Kishida should open a new door for the LDP."

The young members of the "Mogi faction" calling out to Kishida naturally hope that their faction leader, Toshimitsu Motegi, who currently serves as the Secretary-General of the LDP, can smoothly take over as President. Motegi himself stated on a web program on May 19 that he wants to become Prime Minister "because there are things I want to do", but he also said, "Whether I can become Prime Minister depends on the choice of the times."

Currently, the Japanese political arena has formed a "three-headed politics" situation with Fumio Kishida, Taro Aso, and Toshimitsu Motegi. If Toshimitsu Motegi directly challenges Fumio Kishida's position as President, the attitude of Taro Aso, who is the Vice President of the LDP, will be crucial. Reports indicate that Kishida forcibly dissolved LDP factions in January this year and did not adopt Aso's opinions on amending the Political Funds Control Law, creating a certain estrangement between the two. Perhaps realizing the importance of Taro Aso's attitude, Fumio Kishida had dinner with Taro Aso for two consecutive weeks in mid-June, hoping to mend their relationship and discuss the election of the President.

Article Author: Daily Economic News, Source: Daily Economic News, Original Title: "Japan's Political Earthquake! Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Announces: Will Not Run Again! Who Will Be His Successor?"