According to Xinhua News Agency and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decided on the 14th not to participate in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election to be held in September.
According to CCTV News, on August 14th, it was learned that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his intention not to participate in the LDP presidential election to members of the party.
According to CCTV International News citing the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), this means that after the election of the new president of the Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida will resign from his position as Prime Minister.
Fumio Kishida will hold a press conference starting at 11:30 am local time on the 14th.
The Nikkei 225 index erased its previous 1% increase and fell 0.2% as of press time.
The latest poll results from Japan's Mainichi Shimbun show that the support rate for the Kishida Cabinet is 21%, and it has been in the "dangerous waters" below 30% for 13 consecutive months; The disapproval rate is 73%, which has remained at a high level of over 70% for 9 consecutive months. Faced with the continuously low support rate, not only the opposition camp demands Kishida to step down, but there are also public calls within the Liberal Democratic Party for the same.
A poll shows that 70% of the public do not want Kishida to be re elected
According to Xinhua News Agency on July 22, the latest poll results released by Japan show that 70% of Japanese people do not want Fumio Kishida to be re elected as Prime Minister, and over 80% of people believe that he has not fulfilled his responsibility as the party president in the scandal of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's "Black Gold" faction.
The Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun conducted a nationwide telephone survey on topics such as the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election from the 20th to the 21st, receiving 1020 valid responses. The survey results were announced on the 21st. When asked if they hoped that Kishida would participate in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election scheduled for September and be re elected as Prime Minister, 70% of the respondents answered that they hoped he would step down, and 18% of the respondents said they could not answer.
This survey also showed that when asked whether Kishida had fulfilled his responsibility as the party president in the scandal of the Liberal Democratic Party's "Black Gold" scandal, 83% of respondents believed that he had not fulfilled his responsibility.
At the end of last year, the Liberal Democratic Party exposed the "black gold" scandal. Multiple factions have issued sales targets for political fundraising party vouchers to their members of parliament. The excess funds sold will be returned to the members in the form of "kickbacks" and will not be recorded in the faction's revenue and expenditure reports or members' political fund revenue and expenditure reports, thus becoming unregulated secret funds.
In April of this year, the Liberal Democratic Party imposed disciplinary sanctions on 39 individuals involved. The faction previously led by Kishida was also involved in the "black gold" scandal, but Kishida himself was not disciplined, which sparked widespread questioning.
It is worth noting that according to Xinhua News Agency, Fumio Kishida also stated on June 19th that he has no plans to dissolve the House of Representatives of the National Assembly or hold new elections in the short term.
According to Kyodo News, during a parliamentary debate attended by senior officials from various parties on the same day, opposition Constitutional Democratic Party leader Kenta Izumi criticized Kishida for failing to take corrective measures regarding the political funding scandal of the Liberal Democratic Party and urged him to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold new elections. Kishida responded, "I will focus on achieving results on urgent issues... without considering anything else
Kishida stated that he must fulfill his responsibility as the President of the Liberal Democratic Party and rebuild public trust in politics.
The Liberal Democratic Party is experiencing a wave of "toppling the shore"
Since the end of last year, the Liberal Democratic Party has been exposed to scandals such as "black gold" and "sexy parties", and its approval rating has continued to decline. The demand in the political arena for Kishida and the Liberal Democratic Party to step down is gradually increasing.
According to reports, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, recently stated in an interview with the magazine "Wenyi Chunqiu" that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida did not take responsibility for the "black gold" political scandal. The monthly magazine Hanada, released on June 26th, also published an interview with Yoshihide Suga, in which he reiterated Kishida's responsibility in the "black gold" political scandal. Suga Yoshihide bluntly stated, "Prime Minister Kishida should take responsibility." Suga Yoshihide has always claimed to be independent within the Liberal Democratic Party, and his remarks were seen by Japanese media as a direct demand for Kishida's resignation.
Some people within the Liberal Democratic Party also hope that Kishida will leave the position of president. On June 16th, former Japanese General Affairs Officer and member of the "Aso faction" of the House of Representatives, Yoshiaki Saito, publicly stated that "ultimately someone must take responsibility for the current situation." Young members of the "Maomu faction" also demanded that Prime Minister Kishida step down. On June 20th, Congressman Chun Tsushima stated at a House of Representatives meeting held within the Liberal Democratic Party, "President Kishida should come over to deliver a speech." On June 22nd, Congressman Toshimitsu stated at a party meeting held in Hokkaido, "There is ample talent within the Liberal Democratic Party, and Prime Minister Kishida should open a new door for the party
The young member of the "Maoki faction" called out to Kishida, naturally hoping that the leader of their faction, Toshimitsu Maoki, who is currently serving as the Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party, could smoothly take over the position of CEO. On May 19th, Toshimitsu Motegi himself stated on an online program that he "wants to become prime minister because he has something he wants to do," but he also said, "Whether he can become prime minister depends on the choice of the times
At present, the Japanese political arena has formed a "three headed politics" situation with Fumio Kishida, Taro Aso, and Toshimitsu Motegi as the three main players. If Toshimitsu Motegi directly challenges Fumio Kishida's position as CEO, then Taro Aso's attitude as Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party will be crucial. There are reports that Kishida forcibly dissolved the faction of the Liberal Democratic Party in January this year and did not adopt Aso's opinions on amending the Political Funds Regulation Law, which caused a certain distance between the two. Perhaps realizing the importance of Aso Taro's attitude, Fumio Kishida had dinner with him for two consecutive weeks in mid June, hoping to repair their relationship and discuss the presidential election plan together.