I’ll be the post-Kishida! What is the “bad move” that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is exhausted from running amok, has begun to make?

The Prime Minister’s face, slumped over in his seat, showed no sign of the high-spiritedness that comes with being the prime minister of a country.

On the afternoon of March 2, an unusual Saturday for the Diet session, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (66) could not hide his fatigue as he faced the vote on the budget bill.

On March 1, a protracted battle with the opposition, which opposed the budget bill, turned the Diet session into a late-night session. The prime minister has been managing his administration as if his low approval rating had never existed, but now he seems to be reaching his limits both mentally and physically,” said a reporter from the political section of a national newspaper.

With approval ratings in the 10% range no longer a rarity, some LDP lawmakers, especially veterans of the 2009 lower house election, are now talking about the possibility of a fall from power. The prime minister is rapidly becoming isolated.

Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi, 68, has completely relinquished his grip on the party. He opposed deliberations on the budget, which the prime minister wanted to finish by March 2, saying, ‘Maybe it would be better to postpone the schedule. A rift has also developed with Vice President Taro Aso (83) since he announced the dissolution of his faction without any prior arrangement. He also decided to attend the Political Ethics Committee meeting on his own without consulting Mr. Aso. He no longer has anyone to advise him,” said political commentator Harumi Arima.

The results of this decision can be seen in his behavior, which could be described as “out of control. Koichi Kakutani, a political journalist, offers an insight into the lonely prime minister’s mindset.

The former Abe faction officials were reluctant to attend the political hearings, even at this late stage, and ordered the prime minister not to let the cameras in. From the Prime Minister’s point of view, it appeared as if he had no sense of urgency, saying, “You are not in a position to give orders. The prime minister himself attended the meeting, and former Abe faction officials followed suit. He tried to change the situation by making a desperate decision.

The prime minister himself, as the person with the highest authority, took the stage at the hearing, and this should bring the curtain down on the slush fund issue. However, emotional stand-up was not going to change the situation for the better.

By announcing the dissolution of his faction, he probably wanted to show that the slush fund was a problem between the Abe and Nikai factions and that he was not responsible for it. However, his attempt to shift the issue to the other side of the issue was seen through and returned in the form of a decline in his approval rating. They are trying to make the same mistake this time.

What is the reason for Prime Minister Kishida to continue his “stalling” in spite of his exhaustion? Mr. Arima, the aforementioned reporter, confides, “Prime Minister Kishida will be back in Japan on February 14.

On February 14, he will have been in office for 864 days, tying him with former Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki, a member of the Hiroike-kai. He has told people around him that his current target is former Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda, the founder of the Koikekai, who served for 1,575 days. His tenure in office already ranks 10th in the postwar era. The prime minister is proud of this and believes that the number of days in office is the measure of a prime minister.

After all, I am the only one.”

The prime minister is wary of the “ouster of Kishida” within the party after the Diet session is over. However, there is something unusual about Toshihiro Nikai, 85, the former secretary general who is seen as the leader of this movement, as he appeared in front of the press before the Diet’s budget debate on April 2. During the vote on the budget bill, he appeared to have a hard time just returning to his seat after casting his vote. Is it possible to win against the passing of the years?

Mr. Nikai, who has been a kingmaker with his unique view of the political situation, is now beginning to seriously explore the timing of his retirement from politics. He resigned before the next election to take responsibility for the Nikai faction’s slush fund problem. He will create the image that his purification work has been completed and hand over the 2nd Wakayama new district to his protege, Yosuke Tsuruyasu, a member of the upper house of the Diet. He is considering the idea of having his own three sons run for the Wakayama Prefectural Upper House constituency that Tsuruho has vacated,” Kakutani said.

The prime minister, whose only concern is to prolong his life, sees Nikai’s retirement as a tailwind. According to a veteran secretary of the LDP, “The current prime minister is considering the idea of having his own three sons in the fall.

He must be preoccupied with who will be his rival in the presidential election in the fall. He is now deepening his thinking before the September presidential election, saying, ‘After all, I am the only one who can be the next president of the LDP.

Prime Minister Kishida is struggling to prolong his life for the sake of his petty pride. Unfortunately, he will never realize that it is the people who will suffer the consequences of his actions.

From “FRIDAY” March 22, 2024 issue