Fumio Kishida announced on Wednesday (14.Aug.2024) that he will step down as Prime Minister of Japan in September.
US President Joe Biden (Democratic Party) said on Wednesday (Aug 14, 2024) that the leadership of Prime Minister Kishida of Japan, Fumio Kishida (Liberal Democratic Party), “has been nothing short of historic”. The Japanese politician announced that he will step down in September.
“Guided by unwavering courage and moral clarity, Prime Minister Kishida transformed Japan’s role in the world”, Biden said in a statement (fullin English – PDF – 32 kB).
The US leader said Kishida worked on a “new national security strategy”, increased support for Ukraine after “of the invasion of Russia” and that “took historic steps to usher in a new era of trilateral cooperation” between Japan, the US and South Korea, strengthening the “collective capacity to face common challenges”.
Biden stated: “Prime Minister Kishida took these and other measures not because they were easy, but because he deeply believes they were the right thing to do.”.
And he added: “Thanks to Prime Minister Kishida’s leadership, the future of the U.S.-Japan alliance is stronger and brighter than ever. Prime Minister Kishida’s courageous leadership will be remembered on both sides of the Pacific for decades to come, and I will always be grateful to call him my friend.”.
Kishida took office as Japan’s prime minister in 2021. His approval ratings have fallen throughout his term amid rising prices and corruption cases.Politics cannot function without public trust”, Kishida told reporters when announcing that he will not run in the race for the leadership of the party to which he is affiliated, the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party). The winner of this election will be the country’s next prime minister.
Kishida’s government suffered a setback late last year when it became public that the Japanese justice system was investigating allegations that 500 million yen (R$18.5 million) had been paid to LDP members as a form of bribery. At least four ministers resigned at the time.
The prime minister has led Japan through the recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, prioritizing massive stimulus spending. The country’s economy, however, has struggled.
The consumer price index rose 4% in December 2022 compared to the same month a year earlier, recording the country’s highest inflation in 41 years, according to data (full – PDF – 1 MB) of the government released on January 20, 2023.
In early 2024, Japan entered a recession and lost its position as the 3rd largest economy.
The BoJ (Bank of Japan) announced in March this year the end of its negative interest rate policy. It was the first change in the rate since 2016 and the first increase since 2007. At the end of July, the agency raised the country’s short-term interest rate to 0.25%, making it positive for the first time after more than 8 years of being negative.
The measure encourages the maintenance of investments in the country and reduces the demand for currencies from emerging nations, such as Brazil, reducing their value against the dollar.
Announcing his resignation as Japan’s prime minister, Kishida said he would continue to “doing everything he can as prime minister“until the end of his term in September.”
#Historic #leadership #Biden #Japanese #Prime #Minister #Kishida