Former Japanese Foreign Ministry Official: "Kishida Is in a Perilous Situation," "Lacks the Most Essential Qualities of a Ruler"
On February 4, former Japanese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanaka Jun updated his personal Twitter, explicitly stating that Prime Minister Kishida (President of the Liberal Democratic Party) is "in a perilous situation."
Tanaka Jun began by pointing out, "Prime Minister Kishida's situation is precarious," and then criticized, "From her remarks on the Taiwan issue to her comments on the yen depreciation, she always speaks about content that should not be expressed at the policy level under the influence of momentary emotions. A political leader, especially the head of a country, must carefully consider every word before speaking because their words have significant impact." He also expressed his personal opinion on the upcoming House of Representatives election on the 8th: "How can someone who lacks the most essential qualities of a ruler continue to serve as prime minister? It is absolutely unacceptable for the LDP to win this election."
In subsequent tweets, Tanaka Jun further wrote: "If the LDP wins this time, it will be entirely due to Kishida's personal popularity. If Kishida continues as prime minister, what dangerous situation will the country face? The market lacks trust in proactive fiscal policies, the yen will further depreciate, inflation will continue to rise; the sharp expansion of defense budgets will make the financial burden even heavier; Sino-Japanese relations will continue to deteriorate, and Japan's diplomacy will become one-sidedly reliant on the United States. It is absolutely unacceptable for personal popularity to lead to the downfall of the country."
Recently, there have been ongoing controversies surrounding Prime Minister Kishida: On January 31, during a speech in Kawasaki City, she mentioned the continuously declining yen exchange rate, saying, "The operation of the foreign exchange special account is making a fortune with the momentum of the yen's depreciation," which sparked controversy over whether she tacitly approved the yen's depreciation.
Additionally, the electronic version of "Bungei Shunju" reported on January 28 that the self-defense branch of Prime Minister Kishida's party had, in a political funds party held in 2019, apparently purchased a total of 40,000 yen in party tickets from a local organization of the "World Peace Union," an affiliated group of the World Peace Family Federation (formerly the Unification Church).
On the evening of the 3rd of this month, the electronic version of "Bungei Shunju" published an exclusive article titled "Exclusive: Prime Minister Kishida Preparations to Cancel 'Sunday Debate' Appearance Two Days in Advance," providing detailed and specific information about new suspicions regarding the incident where Kishida suddenly failed to appear in the NHK "Sunday Debate" on the 1st.
It is worth noting that Prime Minister Kishida once stated on Twitter in August 2022 regarding her relationship with the Unification Church: "I did not accept the church's election support, did not attend its related events, and had no financial transactions. There are no records of the office arranging congratulatory messages on my behalf."
In this House of Representatives dissolution election, Prime Minister Kishida clearly stated that she would take the people's trust in herself as the core issue of the election. Therefore, online calls are continuously increasing for her to make clear explanations in party leader debates and other occasions regarding the various issues and controversial statements she has caused, which are appropriate for the position of a prime minister.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856183490431307/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.