Reactions to Japan’s Fumio Kishida stepping aside in LDP race

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is stepping down in September, a move that sparked a broad range of reactions from government officials and analysts.

By choosing to not run for reelection as leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida has effectively left the door open for a new prime minister to take the helm of the world’s fourth-largest economy.

One expert said the move was reminiscent of U.S. President Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race less than a month ago.

“To me this is Kishida ‘pulling a Joe Biden’ and realizing (wisely) he’s just not the best face for his party come election time,” said William Pesek, author of “Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan’s Lost Decades.”

While Biden withdrew in the wake of a disastrous debate performance, Kishida’s tenure was hounded by a scandal embroiling his party as well as an economy prone to deflationary pressure.

The leader of Japan’s largest opposition, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, noted those issues have “not yet been resolved” and pledged his party would continue to pursue action to do so. Still, Kenta Izumi thanked Kishida for his hard work, adding “Prime Minister Kishida, you must have been under a lot of pressure.”

In a news conference Wednesday, Kishida said that it is important for the LDP to have a new face in leadership and that he felt the need to step down in order for the LDP to regain the public’s trust, according to a Reuters translation.

Still, diplomats and officials thanked Kishida for his leadership, reflecting on the relationships they developed with Japan during his time as prime minister.

“The prime minister is a true friend of the United States and Japan has become a true global partner for America,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said on social media platform X. 

“Under Prime Minister Kishida’s steadfast leadership, Japan and the United States have ushered in a new era of relations for the Alliance,” Emanuel said, adding that Kishida helped build a network of partnerships and security alliances across the Indo-Pacific region.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese similarly thanked his Japanese counterpart.

“I pay tribute to my friend Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He has always valued the vital relationship between Japan and Australia, and his leadership has helped strengthen it,” he said.

The UAE’s ambassador to Japan, Shihab Alfaheem, noted his appreciation of Kishida’s efforts and the development of relations between their countries, which he said has made great progress. “We are always looking to strengthen our relationship,” he posted on X.

One strategist argued Kishida stepping down had been in the cards.

“He was a dead man walking for a long time. And I think what really upended him at the end was the weakness of the yen, it was basically BOJ’s policy mistakes that got him really out of the polls,” said Amir Anvarzadeh, market strategist at Asymmetric Advisors. 

Japan’s central bank recently raised its benchmark interest rate to “around 0.25%” from its previous range of 0% to 0.1%, marking the Bank of Japan’s highest rates since 2008. That triggered a sharp strengthening in the yen and an aggressive unwinding of the yen-funded carry trade which played a role in the recent dramatic sell-off in global markets. 

“It was as if the BoJ put an end to the prime minister’s term,” Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank said in a note.