The Japanese political arena is experiencing a turmoil. What did Fumio Kishida do? Why did Abe’s brother Nobuo Kishi announce his resignation in a wheelchair? There is also news that Fumio Kishida wants to rebuild friendly relations between China and Japan. Is this true?
[Biden’s meeting with Fumio Kishida]
Nobuo Kishi resigned in a wheelchair
He lost his brother in July and lost his job in August. Eight words are enough to describe the situation of Abe’s brother Nobuo Kishi in the past two months. Nobuo Kishi has always been regarded as the main executor of Abe's policies and the "sharpest blade" in Abe's hands. However, after Shinzo Abe was assassinated, Japan's political struggle began before the case was concluded.
According to the " Yomiuri Shimbun " report, due to the continuous spread of news about a certain sect related to the Liberal Democratic Party , the poll support rate of Kishida Fumio's cabinet has been affected. In order to divert public attention, Kishida Fumio had to reorganize the cabinet in advance. .
[Nobuo Kishi attended the resignation ceremony in a wheelchair]
It is reported that this action was originally supposed to be carried out in September, but just two days ago, Fumio Kishida reorganized the cabinet and Nobuo Kishi was removed from the post of Defense Minister. At the resignation ceremony, Nobuo Kishi attended in a wheelchair. Fumio Kishida also said that Nobuo Kishi is in poor health.
Fumio Kishida couldn’t wait to take action
It is worth mentioning that Nobuo Kishi’s poor health did not happen in a day or two. Previously, Nobuo Kishi had used crutches in public many times, from one crutch to two crutches, and then to sitting Wheelchair, one can see the deteriorating health condition. As for the health status of the former Japanese Defense Minister, the Japanese people have long questioned, saying that the war between Russia and Ukraine is fierce, but the Japanese Defense Minister cannot even go up the stairs. How can Japan's defense situation be worthy of the public's trust? Kishida Fumio never paid attention to these doubts, but now he is reorganizing the cabinet one month after Abe's death. The political implications of this are worth pondering.
The Japanese government led by Fumio Kishida has not been able to get rid of the influence of Shinzo Abe. Even after Abe's death, Fumio Kishida repeatedly promoted Abe's political achievements and wanted to hold a state funeral for Abe on this grounds. But this move directly affected the support rate of Fumio Kishida’s cabinet. How to survive the crisis? Kishida Fumio chose a political "big shake-up" and wanted to eliminate all the remaining parties left by Abe.
[Nobuo Kishi attended the meeting with a cane]
After announcing the news, Fumio Kishida also announced that all cabinet members must truthfully disclose their relationship with a certain sect. does not mention "Abe" in every sentence, but every word is related to "Abe". Japanese media believes that this is a key step in Kishida Fumio's attempt to build a truly independent regime. Among them, Kishida faction like Lin Yoshimasa is retained, while Abe faction like Nobuo Kishi is replaced.
It can be seen that Fumio Kishida is eager to compete for the "political position" previously occupied by Abe. Will such a drastic change in the Japanese government change Sino-Japanese relations?
Can Sino-Japanese friendly relations be rebuilt?
Shinzo Abe belongs to the "pro-American faction" and has repeatedly criticized the Taiwan issue. He even bluntly said that "if there is something wrong in Taiwan, there is something wrong with Japan." Nobuo Kishi's political attitude is the same as that of his brother, so , many "Abe factions" were replaced, especially the resignation of Nobuo Kishi, which led many media to point out that this was a prelude to Fumio Kishida's attempt to improve relations with China. Regarding this issue, we can look at it from three angles.
[Nobuo Kishi makes tough remarks in public]
First, there is no doubt whether the Japanese government’s relations with China can be improved. After all, Nobuo Kishi, a typical “hawkish politician”, is missing. During the tenure of Nobuo Kishi, Japan published two Taiwan-related defense white papers. Although Nobuo Kishi still has a casual position now, his influence is probably not as good as before. Perhaps Japan's attitude towards China will change. Moreover, Fumio Kishida also mentioned at the Shangri-La Dialogue that he hopes to build a stable Sino-Japanese relationship. Now that the cabinet has been reorganized, Fumio Kishida's control over the cabinet has also increased, and it is time to keep his promise.
Second point, let’s analyze this matter objectively. As we have mentioned above, the reason why Kishida Fumio reorganized the cabinet was mainly for his own support rate, which is a typical "self-interested political method." After all, the support rate for has dropped to 46%. If no action is taken, Kishida Fumio's position will not be stable.
[Biden Meeting with Fumio Kishida]
As a politician, Fumio Kishida is not only "self-interested", but also a typical "pro-American" faction. Whether he can change his attitude towards China is still unknown.
The third question is, can Fumio Kishida really get rid of the influence of the "Abe faction"? From the newly announced list of cabinet members, we can still see the shadow of the Abe faction, the most obvious of which is Takaichi Sanae. Sanae Takaichi is Abe's "hardcore confidant" and is also called the "Abe shadow" by the Japanese media. Such a politician is enough to show that Fumio Kishida cannot completely get rid of "Abe's influence" in a short period of time.
In summary, changes in Japan's political situation will partially improve Sino-Japanese relations, but in the general direction, we still cannot take it lightly.
Second point, let’s analyze this matter objectively. As we have mentioned above, the reason why Kishida Fumio reorganized the cabinet was mainly for his own support rate, which is a typical "self-interested political method." After all, the support rate for has dropped to 46%. If no action is taken, Kishida Fumio's position will not be stable.
[Biden Meeting with Fumio Kishida]
As a politician, Fumio Kishida is not only "self-interested", but also a typical "pro-American" faction. Whether he can change his attitude towards China is still unknown.
The third question is, can Fumio Kishida really get rid of the influence of the "Abe faction"? From the newly announced list of cabinet members, we can still see the shadow of the Abe faction, the most obvious of which is Takaichi Sanae. Sanae Takaichi is Abe's "hardcore confidant" and is also called the "Abe shadow" by the Japanese media. Such a politician is enough to show that Fumio Kishida cannot completely get rid of "Abe's influence" in a short period of time.
In summary, changes in Japan's political situation will partially improve Sino-Japanese relations, but in the general direction, we still cannot take it lightly.
