Why Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida has removed his son as his aide

After the cloud of controversy surrounding his appointment, the removal of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s son from office is now making headlines. In Japan, where nepotism is often viewed as a by-product of the political system, this unprecedented event unfolded when the prime minister himself announced his son’s dismissal as his aide.

But why did he remove his son from the office? ‘Inappropriate behaviour’ Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida said Monday he will remove his son from the position of his secretary due to “ inappropriate behaviour” at the official residence. Shotaro Kishida, his father’s executive secretary for political affairs and eldest son, invited a group of people including relatives to a year-end party on 30 December at the prime minister’s official residence. Photos published by the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine show Kishida’s son and relatives posing on red-carpeted stairs in an imitation of the group photos taken of newly appointed Cabinets, with his son at the centre — the position reserved for the prime minister. Other photos showed guests standing at a podium as if holding a news conference. [caption id=“attachment_12664232” align=“alignnone” width=“1080”] Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appointed his eldest son, Shotaro Kishida, as executive secretary in charge of political affairs on 4 October, 2022. AP[/caption] “His behaviour last year at the public space was inappropriate for a political secretary, and we have decided to replace him," Kishida told reporters. He said his son will be replaced by another secretary, Takayoshi Yamamoto, on Thursday. Shotaro will resign on 1 June, he added. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appointed his eldest son as executive secretary in charge of political affairs on 4 October, 2022. Opposition questions his appointment Kishida had reprimanded his 32-year-old son, but criticism erupted from Opposition parties, which called for his removal. Opposition legislators slammed the photographs and the younger Kishida’s attitude, as well as his father’s decision to hire him in the first place. “This is too late. I suspect (Kishida) appointed someone who is not capable (of being the) prime minister’s aide to the post,” said Seiji Osaka, a senior lawmaker with Japan’s largest Opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, as reported by Kyodo news agency. “The appointment itself had a strong element of intermingling public and private interests. Resignation is only natural,” Kenta Izumi, the leader of the largest Opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters on Monday. The head of another Opposition group, Nobuyuki Baba of the Japan Innovation Party, told Kyodo news that Kishida’s son “should have acted with awareness of his position.” Fumio Kishida faces new trouble after G7 boost The revelations emerged shortly after Kishida gained popularity as Japan hosted the G7 conference in Hiroshima earlier in May. After battling plummeting approval ratings late last year, the government saw support jump to 46 per cent in May, before the magazine report about the party was published, according to public broadcaster NHK. [caption id=“attachment_12664242” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The revelations emerged shortly after Fumio Kishida gained popularity as Japan hosted the G7 conference in Hiroshima earlier in May. Reuters[/caption] Kishida appointed his son as policy secretary in October, one of the prime minister’s eight secretaries. The decision, regarded as a move towards grooming him as his heir, was criticised as nepotism, which is usual in Japanese politics, which has long been ruled by hereditary politicians. Shotaro’s appointment as his father Fumio’s executive secretary in October had already caused him grief. Shotaro was reportedly using official cars to go sightseeing and to buy gifts in Europe while his father was touring G7 member countries. Fumio Kishida also lost four Cabinet ministers in the space of three months late last year, either as a result of allegations of financial irregularities or of links to the controversial Unification Church.

With inputs from agencies

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