Kisida Fumio (Fumio Kishida)

Kisida Fumio (Fumio Kishida)

Biography

2021: Appointment as Prime Minister of Japan

On September 29, 2021, ex-Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida was elected the new Prime Minister of Japan. In the second round, he bypassed the "Minister of Vaccination" (as local media call the post of Minister for Administrative Reform, who is responsible for the vaccination campaign) Taro Kono.

According to the voting results, Fumio Kisida won 257 out of 427 votes, while Taro Kono - 170. Thus, Kisida receives the post of new chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and becomes the new, 100th Prime Minister of Japan. Kisida won the election by a margin of vote from LDP parliamentary MPs, although Kono had broader support among rank-and-file party members in the regions.

After the announcement of the voting results, Kisida recalled that parliamentary elections will soon be held, in which LDP members must unite to achieve a good result.

We must demonstrate to the people a revived party and enlist its support. The election is over. We no longer have sides, "he stressed.

The elected head of the party indicated that he was ready to immediately begin his duties, among which he highlighted the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the solution of economic and social problems.

In early September 2021, then-Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who had not served in his position for a year, unexpectedly announced his intention to give up party leadership and resign. He made this decision due to the low rating of his government: according to voters, it failed to effectively cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and the problems associated with it. As a result, the Japanese party in power faced a difficult task. As soon as possible, she had to choose a new leader who would be approved as prime minister.^[1]

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