By Elaine Lies

TOKYO, Reuters – Japan’s incoming Prime minister Fumio Kirishida will formally assume office Monday and dissolve Parliament next week. NHK, the public broadcaster, said that he would call for an election on Oct 31.

This surprise decision, which was expected to occur in November amid expectations of a poll, seems to have been made to exploit a traditional honeymoon period given to new governments as well as a sharp decline in coronavirus infection rates.

Yoshihide Suga, the outgoing prime minister, enjoyed support ratings in excess of 70% shortly after he took office a year ago. However, he was criticized for his handling of pandemics, and he decided to leave the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to be replaced by a fresh face.

Kishida, 64, a former foreign minister with an image as a low-key consensus builder, beat out three contenders https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-ruling-party-votes-new-leader-who-will-almost-certainly-be-next-pm-2021-09-28 last week to lead the party and will become prime minister as it has a majority in parliament.

NHK TV reported that he will dissolve Parliament on October 14th and announce his election as Prime Minister later Monday.

Tobias Harris (a senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress) said that “Kishida is not wasting any of his time,” via Twitter.

“October 31 is a win for the Opposition, and takes advantage of the honeymoon period in the polls. Also, there’s a greater chance of low case numbers.”

Harris stated, Harris, “If the winner of the general elections is comfortable and can keep things together enough to win next year’s election to the upper house, then he could have three years without having to vote.”

ABE SHADOWS CABINET

Kishida will unveil his cabinet with former prime minister Shinzo abe’s allies later Monday to ensure the conservative base’s influence.

Thirteen of the 20 positions will be filled with people who have never held a cabinet post. This is in keeping with Kishida’s promise to offer opportunities to people new to the job market. However, the bulk of the heavyweight jobs will go either to Abe’s allies or Taro Aso, the outgoing finance minister.

Atsuo Ito, a political analyst, stated that “He won with the support from Abe and Aso,” adding that Kishida preferred safety to bold action.

Akira Amari, the newly elected secretary-general of LDP is one of Abe’s closest friends. Shunichi Suzuki, Aso’s brother in law and little-known outside Japan, is set to succeed him.

According to media reports, Toshimitsu, Abe’s brother and Foreign Minister Motegi, and Nobuo, Abe’s Defence Minister will continue in their respective posts.

Hirokazu Matsuno will take the role of chief cabinet secretary. He is an Education Minister under Abe.

Koichi Hagiuda (current education minister) is expected to become the trade and industry minister. He is also known for being close to Abe.

The line-up includes three more women than Suga but none of them hold a heavyweight title.

Kishida is a soft-spoken member of an traditionally conservative party faction. His shift to the right was already evident during the leadership campaign. It reflects a shift in LDP as well as Abe’s likelihood that he would need Abe to win.

Although Abe’s hardline stance toward an assertive China is open to dialogue, it will likely underpin any new diplomatic strategies.