Tokyo, November 24 (IANS). Former Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida has formed a new group within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). At a time when Shigeru Ishiba is leading a minority government in the country, this is clearly a move to ‘maintain his influence’ in the party.
The Kishida-led group reportedly aims to boost asset management in the country. The inaugural meeting was organized by the group on Friday.
About 20 LDP lawmakers attended the inaugural meeting, including former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, as well as LDP election strategy committee head Seiji Kihara and others.
In his speech at the meeting, Kishida highlighted his achievements during his three years as prime minister and party chairman.
“We have begun to see encouraging signs of a new economic phase, including the highest wage growth in 33 years… We need to show Japan to the world as a leader,” The Japan Times quoted Kishida as saying during the meeting. “There must be a strong commitment to efforts to build a leading asset management nation.”
Among those attending the meeting were lawmakers from the LDP faction led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and members of the faction led by former party vice president Taro Aso, the newspaper reported.
“Kishida is eager to exert his influence,” the sources said, adding that he has a lot of unfinished projects and is trying to consolidate his power through the policy group.
Let us tell you that Shigeru Ishiba, leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was elected as the Prime Minister of the country in the parliamentary voting last month.
He was formally re-elected on 11 November after a runoff vote in Parliament. This was the first runoff vote in three decades.
Earlier, Kishida had stepped down at the end of his three-year term following a corruption scandal that rocked his party and the country’s politics. He was elected as the Prime Minister on September 29, 2021. After Kishida’s resignation, Ishiba took over as PM.
–IANS
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