<figure id="attachment_400651" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-400651" style="width: 1667px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2933f8f2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/4dcea0bf58f7f68aea9a27e50217379a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-400651" class="wp-caption-text">Prime Minister Ishiba smiles amid dark clouds hanging over his administration.</figcaption></figure>
<h2> The reason for his &#8220;big smile</h2>
<p> Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, 67, smiles an exquisite smile that is described as &#8220;cute&#8221; by a very small group of his fans. The photo shows him talking with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (63) and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato (68) during a plenary session of the special Diet session that ended on November 14 after a four-day session.</p>
<p> On the following day, November 15, he visited Lima, the capital of Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders&#8217; Meeting. Perhaps it was the smile that leaked out of his mouth at the thought of an outing that would allow him to escape from the Diet, which has been reduced to a needle in a haystack.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He was smiling only for a few days immediately after assuming the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party.</span></p>
<p> That is the analysis of journalist Tetsuo Suzuki, who occasionally speaks with Prime Minister Ishiba by phone.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> Although Ishiba won the prime minister&#8217;s seat at the fifth attempt, he was defeated in a general election in which he reversed himself and decided to dissolve the party early. The LDP fell to the minority ruling party, with former National Diet Committee Chairman Jun Azumi (62) appointed chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee and former Representative Yukio Edano (60) appointed chairman of the Constitutional Review Commission, leaving 12 committee chairmen and chairman posts to the opposition parties.</p>
<p> The extraordinary Diet session to be convened on November 28 will begin deliberations on the supplementary budget for fiscal 2012. The Diet must be managed with the opinions of the opposition parties in mind, and there will be times when the Diet will be forced into a debate on the issue of &#8220;politics and money.</p>
<p> This is only based on the number of seats in the Diet, but if the opposition parties get together and pass a no-confidence motion in the Cabinet, Prime Minister Ishiba will be forced to dissolve the Diet or resign.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Even in a pessimistic situation, he would smile..."></div>
<h2>The Mystery of Increased Support</h2>
<p> How can one smile in the face of nothing but pessimism? Mr. Suzuki, the aforementioned person, said, &#8220;Prime Minister Ishiba is saying, &#8216;We will do one thing at a time.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Prime Minister Ishiba is saying, &#8216;We will do one thing at a time, and that is all we can do. In the past, when the prime minister or president announced a policy that he wanted to pursue, the relevant parliamentary councils and Diet members would immediately move to support it, but in his case, the support is not widespread because his party base is weak.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the absence of any movement within the party to support him, he has no choice but to start working on regional development, economic and fiscal affairs, and the establishment of a disaster-prevention agency, which are the areas of expertise of Akasawa Ryosuke, 63, minister in charge of economic revitalization, Murakami Seiichiro, 72, minister of internal affairs, and Nakatani Gen, 67, former defense minister, and other well-informed people, and to show his Ishiba color. I think he is showing his determination that the only way to break through the current difficult situation is to do what we can do, one by one,&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_400655" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-400655" style="width: 1667px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d24222af"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/7afdac694078cd50472ec99094f2484c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-400655" class="wp-caption-text"> Minister of Finance Kato (front), Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi (middle), and others</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> Opinion polls conducted by various media outlets also show figures that support Ishiba&#8217;s smiling face.</p>
<p> A Yomiuri Shimbun poll conducted on November 11-12, following the launch of the second Ishiba cabinet, showed the cabinet&#8217;s approval rating at 43%, up 9 points from the previous survey taken immediately after the lower house election.</p>
<p> Kyodo News&#8217; November poll also showed that support for the Ishiba cabinet rose to 40% from 32.1% in October. On the other hand, the LDP&#8217;s approval rating fell from 31.8% to 30.5%. While the LDP is under scrutiny, the approval rating of its leader, Ishiba, is up. What should we make of these figures?</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The public had been frustrated with the former Abe faction lawmakers due to criticism of the slush fund issue that arose under the previous Kishida administration. However, many of them were not elected in the general election. Under these circumstances, I believe that the public is encouraging Mr. Ishiba to work a little harder as prime minister and change the LDP.</span></p>
<p> However, as mentioned above, the Diet is still in a difficult situation. Cooperation from the opposition parties is essential if a supplementary budget bill is to be passed in the extraordinary Diet session. In particular, the KDP, which won 28 seats in the recent general election on the platform of &#8220;increasing the take-home pay,&#8221; is expected to cooperate.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" It&#39;s the same no matter who does it."></div>
<h2>What will the opposition do?</h2>
<figure id="attachment_400656" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-400656" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f7b9e75a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/b6dfbcdde180c8b6fcfab7edf3017c99.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-400656" class="wp-caption-text"> Will the &#8220;live and let live&#8221; situation continue?</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> There is a strange luck or a strange wind blowing.</span></p>
<p> Former TV Asahi political affairs manager and journalist Yoshimasa Suenobu is tilting his head in the direction of the Ishiba administration.</p>
<p> The National Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which has become a key player in the management of the Diet, has been hit by the revelation of the affair of Yuichiro Tamaki, 55, the party&#8217;s representative. While Tamaki has announced that he will continue to represent the DPJ, the problem is likely to be prolonged.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Tamaki was the man of the moment immediately after the general election, and the LDP had to take his wishes into consideration to the utmost, but because of the embarrassment over the woman issue, the KDP was unable to make a strong stand. The &#8220;Minna-no-tō&#8221; (Everyone&#8217;s Party), led by Yoshimi Watanabe, 72, former minister in charge of administrative reform, was a third-party that shone a certain light. Under the Abe administration, the party split when it took a pro-ruling party stance on the budget and other issues,</span><span class="strongInContent"> The party was dissolved. I hope the KDP does not make the same mistake as the Minna-no-tō,&#8221; Suenobu said.</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> Even within the LDP, the winds of &#8220;downing Ishiba&#8221; are not blowing. Shigeharu Aoyama, 72, a member of the House of Councillors, a former member of the Abe faction, has been barking that Ishiba should resign immediately to take responsibility for his heavy defeat in the general election, but he has been unable to follow suit. With the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party falling short of a majority in the lower house, a change in the top leadership will not break the deadlock, and a passive acceptance argument is spreading that <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;it doesn&#8217;t matter who is prime minister.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Within the LDP, the main candidates who competed with Ishiba in the presidential election, including Sanae Takaichi, 63, former LDP minister in charge of economic security, have lost strength and are not willing to actively fight for the presidency.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The opposition parties will press the Ishiba administration to step down, but in reality, they are hoping that &#8220;the lackluster Ishiba administration will survive until the last minute&#8221; in order to win the Upper House election next July. The current administration, which is full of offensive points, is easier to confront than if they change the president and regain support. It is believed that he may assist in prolonging the life of the Ishiba administration by managing the Diet without letting it live or die,&#8221; said Suenobu.</span></p>
<p> As a result of the administration suddenly becoming a muddy ship, the ruling and opposition parties are all taking a wait-and-see attitude. For the people who are looking for a leader with leadership skills, the political situation is likely to continue to be laughable.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>


 Daisuke Iwasaki

 Takeshi Kinugawa

 On November 14, the last day of the special Diet session, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba showed a "big smile. Why was he able to show such a relaxed expression in the face of the increasing difficulties in managing the Diet following the heavy defeat in the lower house election?

The Thorny Road of “Don’t Let Him Live, Don’t Kill Him” Awaits Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Returning Home from APEC Talks

Access Ranking