Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida along with his entire cabinet, resigned on Tuesday, paving the way for Shigeru Ishiba to take over the office.
It said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announced the collective resignation during a cabinet meeting, local media reported. The Prime Minister’s Office tweeted a video on X of staff giving Kishida a warm farewell and presenting bouquets.
“Today, October 1, 2024, the Kishida Cabinet resigned en masse,” the office confirmed on X. Kishida expressed his gratitude as he left the Prime Minister’s Office, seen off by its staffers.
Earlier on Friday, Ishiba was elected the new leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, replacing Kishida. In August, Kishida had announced his resignation from his three-year office.
In a farewell statement, Kishida said, “Since the inauguration of my Cabinet, we have confronted challenges that cannot be postponed.” He emphasized his focus on turning change into strength through economic and social policy initiatives.
Kishida made it clear that the number one priority to revitalize was the economy. He stated that a “New Form of Capitalism” calls for pairing a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution with improvements in wages and prices.
He felt grateful to the Japanese, who supported them at their times of crisis, like the earthquake in the Noto Peninsula. Kishida promised that the government was still going to support the people affected and would get back to normal conditions.
He defeated economic security minister Sanae Takaichi 215-194 in the runoff vote. While Takaichi came within a hair’s breadth of being Japan’s first female premier. She lost to him in the 2021 race.
In this context, the party holds the majority in parliament, so the LDP will decide the prime minister. After his swearing-in, former agriculture minister Ishiba is likely to announce new LDP executives and his cabinet members.
With Japan now catapulting into new hands, many will follow how Ishiba addresses pressing challenges facing the nation. The future of Japan’s policies and governance is in his hands now.
ANI
