Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he did his best over past year, taking criticism of state funeral
Sep. 30, 2022
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
On September 29, the Chugoku Shimbun interviewed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at his official residence prior to October 4, the first anniversary of the launch of his administration. While looking back on the management of his administration, he said, “I did my best,” but he said, “I take the public’s opinions and criticism seriously,” regarding the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which caused his approval rating to plummet. He also revealed his resolve to achieve results in diplomacy and security, focusing on economic policies to increase the support of his administration and the summit meeting of the G7 (attended by the Group of Seven industrialized nations) to be held in May 2023 in his hometown, the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima.
Touching on the response to the new coronavirus and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said, “I did my best in a series of decisions and actions.”
While Mr. Kishida said, “We were able to hold a funeral of the late Prime Minister Abe in a solemn and heartfelt way,” regarding his state funeral, he acknowledged that there was criticism among public, saying, “We have to put this fact to use in the future.”
With the extraordinary session of the Diet scheduled to convene on October 3, he announced his intention to prepare a supplementary budget for additional measures to deal with high prices. Regarding his signature economic policy “New capitalism,” he said that he would increase the number of startups ten times in five years.
A key theme of the Hiroshima G7 Summit will be “A world free of nuclear weapons.” Mr. Kishida said that he would work to materialize the Hiroshima Action Plan, an action plan with five pillars, including enhancement of the transparency of nuclear forces. Regarding the revision of the three documents by the end of the year, including the National Security Strategy, a long-term guideline for diplomacy and security policy, he indicated that he would consider possessing the ability of counterattack (the ability to attack enemy bases).
(Originally published on September 30, 2022)
On September 29, the Chugoku Shimbun interviewed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at his official residence prior to October 4, the first anniversary of the launch of his administration. While looking back on the management of his administration, he said, “I did my best,” but he said, “I take the public’s opinions and criticism seriously,” regarding the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which caused his approval rating to plummet. He also revealed his resolve to achieve results in diplomacy and security, focusing on economic policies to increase the support of his administration and the summit meeting of the G7 (attended by the Group of Seven industrialized nations) to be held in May 2023 in his hometown, the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima.
Touching on the response to the new coronavirus and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said, “I did my best in a series of decisions and actions.”
While Mr. Kishida said, “We were able to hold a funeral of the late Prime Minister Abe in a solemn and heartfelt way,” regarding his state funeral, he acknowledged that there was criticism among public, saying, “We have to put this fact to use in the future.”
With the extraordinary session of the Diet scheduled to convene on October 3, he announced his intention to prepare a supplementary budget for additional measures to deal with high prices. Regarding his signature economic policy “New capitalism,” he said that he would increase the number of startups ten times in five years.
A key theme of the Hiroshima G7 Summit will be “A world free of nuclear weapons.” Mr. Kishida said that he would work to materialize the Hiroshima Action Plan, an action plan with five pillars, including enhancement of the transparency of nuclear forces. Regarding the revision of the three documents by the end of the year, including the National Security Strategy, a long-term guideline for diplomacy and security policy, he indicated that he would consider possessing the ability of counterattack (the ability to attack enemy bases).
(Originally published on September 30, 2022)
