Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appointed his son as a senior political aide, sparking speculation that the 31-year-old was being groomed as an eventual successor and prompting criticism of nepotism.
Shotaro, the oldest of Kishida’s three sons, was named executive secretary to the prime minister, government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said yesterday, adding that the appointment was appropriate.
“Appointments are about putting the right person in the right role based on character and expertise, and I believe this one is no different,” he told a regular press briefing.
Photo: Reuters / Kyodo
The move places Shotaro, already a member of Kishida’s staff, within a small group that follows the prime minister almost everywhere, including meetings with world leaders, and is involved in behind-the-scenes political negotiations.
Public broadcaster NHK said the older Kishida was likely preparing his son for eventual succession by exposing him to high-level policymaking, while critics said the nation’s leadership was increasingly controlled by powerful dynasties.
“This is, essentially, preferential treatment for family,” Yuichiro Tamaki, the head of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.
While placing family members in influential government positions is not rare, even among democracies, hereditary politics is particularly entrenched in Japan.
Prime Minister Kishida himself hails from a long line of lawmakers in Hiroshima. His predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, the son of a strawberry farmer, was the only leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the past two decades who did not come from a political family.
Kishida’s approval ratings have already been falling due to rising living costs and distrust over the LDP’s ties with the Unification Church, which has a long list of court judgements against it in Japan over its fundraising methods.
Before joining Kishida’s personal office, Shotaro worked at a major trading house, NHK said.
He becomes one of eight executive secretaries, including six career bureaucrats, working for the prime minister.
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS