“I remain determined to make it happen for Japan,” he told reporters, without directly responding to North Korea’s recent comments that such a meeting would only be possible if Japan stopped raising questions about North Korea’s military programs.
Speaking at a press conference after parliament approved the government’s budget, Kishida stressed that he was directly involved in high-level talks to resolve a range of bilateral issues amid growing concerns over neighboring North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs.
In 2002, Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, told then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that his agents had kidnapped 13 Japanese in the 1980s and 1990s. After this trip, five Japanese citizens were returned home.
Japan believes that hundreds more people may have been abducted during that period, some of whom may still be alive. Mr. Koizumi went to the last bilateral summit in 2004.
Mr. Kishida, who will serve as prime minister from 2021, has also pledged to pull the country out of decades of deflation and begin a positive shift toward higher wages, corporate profits and productivity.
“We have a historic opportunity to get out of deflation,” Kishida insisted, stressing that the changes would be driven by his “new capitalism” agenda, based on economic changes such as a more mobile workforce, investment in artificial intelligence and rising middle-class incomes.
He promised legal reviews and an internal investigation to tackle a widening scandal over political funding that ruling party lawmakers allegedly obtained through shady means, such as overpriced tickets to fund-raising parties.
According to F. Kishida, more time is needed to clarify the details, but the offending politicians will be punished in order to restore public trust.
In recent months, the scandal has caused Kishida’s popularity to plummet to record lows. But even if he were to be ousted, it is likely that another leader from the Liberal Democrats would take his place, as the opposition is weak and divided.
Experts even speculate that the first woman may be elected to the prime minister’s chair in Japan, such as Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike. Observers believe that the woman could bring in new winds, although it is unlikely that she would stray too far from the status quo.
