Japan’s new Prime Minister takes office, meets lawmakers

Japan’s new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has met with lawmakers after he was formally elected by parliament on Monday.

NHK media said he was set to dissolve the body next week and call an election on Oct. 31.

Earlier in the day, Kishida, a 64-year-old former foreign minister with an image as a consensus builder, unveiled a cabinet line-up dominated by allies of former prime minister Shinzo Abe and ex-finance minister Taro Aso.

While he needs to set out policies to deal with the pandemic, and follow through on his pledge to reduce income inequality, Kishida first needs to rally the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for the forthcoming parliamentary election.

NHK said Kishida would announce the election date in his first news conference as prime minister and dissolve parliament on Oct. 14.

His plan to call for an election so quickly was regarded as a surprise, even though one has to take place by Nov.28, as parliament’s term ends on Oct. 21.

Aside from taking advantage of the honeymoon period usually given to new governments by the electorate, analysts said Kishida probably didn’t want to lose time, given risks posed by the pandemic.

New coronavirus cases in Tokyo on Monday totalled 87, the lowest since Nov 2 last year.

Kishida’s predecessor Yoshihide Suga enjoyed support ratings of about 70% soon after taking office a year ago, but was pummelled by criticism of his handling of the pandemic. Following Suga’s decision to make way for a new face, Kishida beat out three contenders for leadership of the LDP last week, paving the way for parliament to formally elect him premier on Monday.

Reuters