1. Fumio Kishida is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2021 to 2024.
121 Facts About Fumio Kishida
1. 2.
Fumio Kishida has been a member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet since 1993.
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Fumio Kishida was appointed to Minister of State for Special Missions in the premiership of Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda from 2007 to 2008, and was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2012 after Abe regained the premiership following the 2012 general election, serving for five years and becoming the longest-serving Foreign Affairs Minister in Japanese history.
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Fumio Kishida resigned from the Abe cabinet in 2017 in order to head the LDP's Policy Research Council.
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Fumio Kishida assumed leadership of the LDP's more moderate Kochikai faction in 2012 following the retirement of faction leader Makoto Koga, a position he held until his resignation in 2023.
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Long considered a potential future prime minister, Fumio Kishida ran in the 2020 LDP presidential election, but lost to Yoshihide Suga.
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Fumio Kishida ran again for the party leadership in 2021, this time winning in a second round run-off against opponent Taro Kono.
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Fumio Kishida was confirmed as prime minister by the National Diet four days later on 4 October 2021.
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Fumio Kishida's tenure saw a reversal of decades-long deflationary economic policies, with Japan experiencing its highest wage growth in 30 years, driven by record wage increases achieved through annual wage negotiations.
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Fumio Kishida led the LDP to victory in the 2021 general election and the 2022 House of Councillors election, albeit at a slightly reduced majority.
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Fumio Kishida oversaw the dissolution of the Unification Church in Japan following the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 and the disbandment of his faction Kochikai, along with Seiwakai and Shisuikai following a party-wide slush fund corruption scandal.
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Fumio Kishida's tenure saw the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in 2023.
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Fumio Kishida reshuffled his cabinet twice, in August 2022 to remove cabinet members affiliated with the UC and in September 2023 to remove cabinet members associated with the slush fund scandal.
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Fumio Kishida responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by becoming the first Asian country to impose sanctions on Russia and Belarus and authorizing civilian aid to Ukraine.
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Fumio Kishida survived an assassination attempt on 15 April 2023 while delivering a campaign speech.
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The end of Fumio Kishida's premiership was marked by a struggle to recover from record-low approval ratings amid fallout from the LDP slush fund scandal.
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On 14 August 2024, Fumio Kishida announced that he would step down as LDP party leader, thereby not seeking reelection in September.
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Fumio Kishida was born to a political family in Shibuya, Tokyo, on 29 July 1957.
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Fumio Kishida's father, Fumitake Kishida, was a government official in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and director of The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency.
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Since the Fumio Kishida family was from Hiroshima, the family returned there every summer.
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Many members of the Kishida family had died in the atomic bombing and Fumio grew up hearing stories from the atomic bomb survivors.
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Fumio Kishida attended Kojimachi Elementary School and Kojimachi Junior High School.
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Fumio Kishida graduated from Kaisei Academy, where he played on the baseball team.
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At that time, Fumio Kishida signed a petition in support of Kato and was absent during the vote.
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In 2001, Fumio Kishida served as Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in the first Koizumi Cabinet.
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Fumio Kishida served as Minister of Okinawa Affairs from 2007 to 2008, firstly in the Abe Cabinet and later in the Fukuda cabinet.
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Fumio Kishida was appointed state minister in charge of consumer affairs and food safety in the cabinet of then prime minister Yasuo Fukuda in 2008.
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Fumio Kishida was state minister in charge of science and technology in the Fukuda cabinet.
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Fumio Kishida was close to Makoto Koga, leader of the Kochikai faction, one of the oldest inside the LDP, and assumed control of it in October 2012 after Makoto Koga announced his retirement from politics.
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Fumio Kishida became the longest-serving foreign minister in postwar history, surpassing Abe's father Shintaro Abe.
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Fumio Kishida helped to arrange US President Barack Obama's historic visit to Hiroshima in May 2016, and gained attention in 2017 when he appeared alongside comedian Piko Taro to promote a United Nations program.
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Fumio Kishida was not in favor of the appointment of Toshihiro Nikai as LDP secretary-general by Abe in 2016 against the wishes of Kishida's own faction, which was seen as an attempt at blocking generational change inside the LDP.
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In 2017, Fumio Kishida left the Cabinet to take over the chairmanship of the LDP Policy Research Council, a position traditionally seen as a stepping stone to leadership of the party.
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Fumio Kishida sought this position in order to improve his chances to succeed Abe, as the foreign minister post had relatively little influence within the party.
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Fumio Kishida considered running in the 2018 LDP presidential election, but he was persuaded by Abe not to run, with a suggestion that Abe would later support Fumio Kishida as his successor.
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Fumio Kishida ran in the 2020 LDP presidential election but lost out to Suga, who became prime minister; Fumio Kishida was not offered a position in the Suga cabinet, although his faction obtained two cabinet seats.
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On 29 September 2021, Fumio Kishida defeated Taro Kono in a runoff vote to become the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and replaced outgoing party leader Yoshihide Suga.
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Fumio Kishida received a total of 257 votes, from 249 parliamentary members and eight rank-and-file members, to become Japan's next prime minister.
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The First Fumio Kishida Cabinet took office on 4 October 2021 and consisted of 21 members, including 13 who joined the Cabinet for the first time while including 2 veterans, Toshimitsu Motegi and Nobuo Kishi, who retained their respective posts from the previous cabinet under Suga; He became the first LDP prime minister of Kochikai origin in nearly three decades, since Kiichi Miyazawa resigned in 1993.
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Fumio Kishida gave his first speech as prime minister on 8 October 2021, vowing to fight and end the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan as well as announcing measures to counter the perceived threats by China and North Korea.
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Fumio Kishida formed the Second Kishida Cabinet by replacing Toshimitsu Motegi with Yoshimasa Hayashi as the Foreign Minister; Motegi became the party's Secretary-General.
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Fumio Kishida's tenure saw a reversal of decades-long deflationary economic policies, with Japan experiencing its highest wage growth in 30 years, driven by record wage increases achieved through annual wage negotiations.
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Amidst the relaxation of COVD-19 measures in Spring 2022, Fumio Kishida resumed the admission of foreign workers into Japan, but stopped short of reforming the nation's immigration policy.
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Fumio Kishida appointed Kazuo Ueda as Governor of the Bank of Japan in April 2023, who stated he planned to continue the ultra easy monetary policy introduced by the outgoing Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.
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Fumio Kishida set child care as his government's priority for the year 2023.
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Fumio Kishida emphasized the potential consequences of child poverty and declining birth rates, and stated that his administration would increase monetary child benefits given to parents.
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Fumio Kishida announced a plan to double the country's children-related budget by June 2023, and instructed government ministers in the administration to outline child care plans by the end of March 2023.
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Fumio Kishida established the Children and Families Agency on 1 April 2023 to serve as a new administrative body within the Cabinet Office to tackle issues relating to child welfare.
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In December 2021 amid Omicron variant spreading around the globe, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that the government imposed tightening travel restrictions on international travelers, with some governments banning travel completely to curb transmission.
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On 21 August 2022 amid the second Omicron infection surge, it was reported that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had tested positive for COVID-19 Omicron variant and he has experiencing "very mild" symptoms.
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In September 2022, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that visa requirements from some countries would be waived from 11 October, in a move to reopen international travel after the pandemic border restrictions.
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On 20 January 2023 amid the third Omicron infection falls, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that the government pledged to downgrade the legal status of COVID-19 to a Class 5 disease, the same level as a seasonal influenza, a move that would lead to a major shift in the pandemic border restrictions that have been in place for around three years.
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The media's response to Fumio Kishida's COVID policies has been mixed, with the Mainichi Shimbun warning that the COVID classification-downgrade could result in the "collapse" of Okinawa's medical system during a surge in June 2023.
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Fumio Kishida's government confirmed they would continue with the water release, in August 2023.
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Fumio Kishida said the calls were "deplorable", and appealed to China to urge its government to ask its citizens to stop the harassing calls.
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The effects on the fish markets were expected to be severe, and Fumio Kishida promised to financially support local fisheries.
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In keeping with the Free and Open Indo-Pacific policy, Fumio Kishida has visited Quad nations such as India and Australia to ensure the status quo in the region remains unchanged.
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Fumio Kishida has visited nations in Europe, along with Canada and the United States, with Japan hosting the 49th G7 summit in May 2023.
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Fumio Kishida has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and visited Kyiv in a historic trip.
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Fumio Kishida supported Bangladesh's efforts to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
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Fumio Kishida attended the 2022 and the 2023 NATO summits in Spain and Lithuania.
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In October 2023, Fumio Kishida condemned Hamas' actions during the Gaza war and expressed his support to Israel and its right to self-defense.
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Early in his tenure as PM, Fumio Kishida was seen as dovish on foreign policy and lukewarm about revising Japan's pacifist constitution.
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Fumio Kishida first met with President Emmanuel Macron of France on 9 January 2023.
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On 11 January 2023, Fumio Kishida met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, where the two signed a joint defence pact.
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Fumio Kishida, who was visiting President Biden in Washington at the time, had overseen the March 2024 "necessary measures to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense, up from 1.2 percent" in 2022.
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Fumio Kishida's cabinet has been "loosening traditional military constraints and beefing up its defense capabilities," and in July 2024 announced setting up a US-Japan joint operational command, with the goal for the two militaries to operate "seamlessly".
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Fumio Kishida's cabinet has loosened military restrictions, by approving sales of arms overseas, and revising equipment and technology transfer rules to allow weapons "to be sold to countries other than the partners".
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On 24 February 2022, following the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Fumio Kishida joined other leaders of the G7 nations in imposing economic sanctions on Russia.
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Fumio Kishida's proposed sanctions were much harsher than the largely symbolic sanctions imposed by the government of Shinzo Abe on Russia following the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.
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In March 2022, Fumio Kishida announced that Japan would accept Ukrainian refugees.
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In December 2022 the Fumio Kishida government announced a $320 billion increase in military spending, due in part to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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On January 14,2023, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for Fumio Kishida to commit "seppuku" after he and Joe Biden warned Russia against using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.
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In February 2023, Fumio Kishida said Japan would provide roughly $5.5 billion in aid to Ukraine during the invasion.
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Fumio Kishida invited President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine to a virtual meeting of G7 leaders, which was held on 24 February 2023, the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Fumio Kishida was the last G7 leader to visit Kyiv during the invasion; pressure grew for him to do so following Biden's visit in February 2023.
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On 21 March 2023, Fumio Kishida visited Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Fumio Kishida visited Bucha in Ukraine's Kyiv Oblast, the site of a civilian massacre that was perpetrated by Russia.
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Fumio Kishida was praised for the visit, and said he was "outraged by the cruelty".
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Fumio Kishida led G7 leaders in announcing a joint declaration of support for Ukraine, during the 2023 Vilinius summit for NATO.
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On 27 July 2022 Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday he and President Joko Widodo had agreed during talks to cooperate in a variety of fields, including energy and maritime security.
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At the outset of the meeting in Tokyo, Fumio Kishida told Jokowi that Japan hopes to work with Indonesia to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region, a vision that Japan is pursuing amid China's rise.
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Fumio Kishida sought on his visit to Canada in January 2023 to partner with what he saw as a resource-rich country but was rebuffed as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had spent his entire tenure on a quest to "de-carbonize" the Canadian economy and saw political advantage in an excise tax on the substance of life.
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Fumio Kishida was invited to speak to the US Congress on 11 April 2024.
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Fumio Kishida pledged to take the lead in formulating global regulations on the appropriate use of generative AI technology through a new framework involving like-minded nations.
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On 16 March 2023 Fumio Kishida held a summit with Yoon in Tokyo to settle war time labor disputes, among other issues.
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On 7 May 2023, Fumio Kishida arrived in Seoul for a two-day trip to South Korea.
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Fumio Kishida was criticized by some in South Korea for not directly apologizing during the meeting.
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Fumio Kishida invited President Yoon to attend the 49th G7 summit in Hiroshima as an invitee.
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In 2024, it was reported that Fumio Kishida was seeking a meeting with high level North Korean officials.
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Fumio Kishida had previously stated in May 2023 that "I am determined to face Kim Jong Un directly myself, without any preconditions," and settle the issue of the North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens.
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Fumio Kishida has attempted to deepen ties between Japan and African nations, while promoting peace and stability in the region.
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Later on 30 April 2023, Fumio Kishida began an African tour and visited the League of Arab States based in Egypt, and met with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; Fumio Kishida offered a yen loan to fund a metro line project in Cairo.
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Fumio Kishida met with Kenyan President William Ruto, who agreed to deepen cooperation and to bolster economic and energy ties.
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Fumio Kishida announced that Japan would continue to give assistance for infrastructure in Kenya.
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Ruto and Fumio Kishida signed an agreement allowing Kenyans to access jobs in Japan, bolstering economic relations.
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Fumio Kishida later blamed insufficient police protection for allowing the murder to occur.
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On 4 December 2023, Fumio Kishida denied having knowledge about the involvement of Newt Gingrich and Masayoshi Kajikuri with the Unification Church during a meeting in October 2019, arranged by Abe.
99.
The device exploded after a short delay during which Fumio Kishida was evacuated from the scene unharmed.
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The incident took place as Fumio Kishida was talking with a candidate of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party just before his scheduled speech.
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Fumio Kishida immediately left by car after the incident and continued with his stump speech elsewhere in the city.
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Fumio Kishida stated at an event later in the day that "elections are a bedrock of democracy," adding that it was extremely unforgivable that such violence took place.
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Fumio Kishida pledged to "work like a ball of fire" to regain public trust after news broke.
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Fumio Kishida announced his resignation as the head of Kochikai and announced he will leave the faction while he serves as premier.
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Fumio Kishida told the media it was a result of "clerical errors".
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Fumio Kishida is not expected to face prosecution for the error.
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However, Fumio Kishida's pledge did not gain party-wide support, Shikokai, the third largest-grouping inside the party led by former Prime Minister Taro Aso, and Heisei Kenkyukai, led by LDP General Secretary Toshimitsu Motegi, defied Fumio Kishida's will and did not disband.
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Fumio Kishida has come under fire for Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Masahito Moriyama ties to the Unification Church, the same group which dogged Fumio Kishida's approvals early on in his term.
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Fumio Kishida denied he would step down after results came in.
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On 14 August 2024, Fumio Kishida announced that he would no longer seek another term as president of the LDP in elections due in September, which would effectively end his tenure as prime minister.
111.
From 2012 to 2023, Fumio Kishida served as the leader of the moderate Kochikai faction.
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In 2017, while serving as foreign minister, Fumio Kishida pressured China to push North Korea towards denuclearization.
113.
Fumio Kishida took a stronger stance than other contenders regarding China and North Korea, saying that Japan should strengthen its defenses, while at the same time recognizing that there is a clash between authoritarianism and democracy in the region, especially with regard to the status of Taiwan.
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In May 2022 Fumio Kishida requested that the German government remove Statue of Peace in Berlin, a variant of the Statue of Peace, in Berlin.
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Fumio Kishida is in favor of retaining nuclear power technology, which he says should be considered as a clean energy option, while calling for the establishment of a $90.7 billion university fund to further stimulate science and promotion of renewable energy.
116.
Fumio Kishida's government continued to reject participating in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons framework and discussions.
117.
Fumio Kishida stated support for discussions toward allowing married Japanese couples to choose between unified single surnames or separate last names, while on the topic of same-sex marriage Fumio Kishida has stated he has not come to support it, saying instead that the public's opinion should be understood before the Diet decides.
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In 1988, Fumio Kishida married Yuko Fumio Kishida, the daughter of a Japanese real estate investor, in an arranged marriage.
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Fumio Kishida is a fan of the manga series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and has pledged to financially support the Japanese animation industry during his premiership.
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Fumio Kishida is a fan of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team.
121.
In May 2023, Fumio Kishida dismissed his eldest son, Shotaro Fumio Kishida, from his role as policy secretary, effective 1 June 2023, for misuse of government resources.