As Kishida mentioned his general policy on October 8th, I would like to share with you my impression on reliability towards Kishida. The impressions that I got were as follows.
1 Clear and easy to understand
2 Point focused speech
3 Good at HR management
4 Loser hero
5 Possibility of ending up a“Fake elite”
1 Clear and easy to understand
His direction looks clear, new democratic policy: a sort of hybrid of the government intervention and the market driven. This is probably because he intends to manage upcoming recession which might occur once the pandemic ends, and the world gets back to the new normal.
Covid measurement, diplomatic policies, revitalization of regional cities, and reinforcing Japan’s economic position as the third largest economy in the world, all of them are on his agenda, Each one of them seems to be clear and feasible to some extent. This is the most notable difference from the past PMs.
2 Point focused speech
For all the issues and topics that Kishida has to deal with as the prime minister, he raised two or three points first, then digest each one of them. This looks more Westernized approach than that of Asian. For our generation or even much younger, such approach works while older generations prefer rather narrative approach for them to be convinced.
3 Good at HR management
Economic and political journalist, Shinichiro Suda( http://suda-journal.jp/) , mentioned that Kishida seems to understand well the HR management, which means “The right person in the right place”. Especially for Kono, the former Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, and also defeated candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, Kishida appointed Kono as the head of public relations of LDP. The position looks rather backstage and rather unglamourous, however, as Kono has not experienced such position, for him to establish a trust in LDP, Kishida well considers to provide him with such boring but important experience.
I feel this is quite reasonable and sensible. From this HR management, I found that Kishida has been serious int terms of his commitment to improve Japanese economy and the presence in the world.
4 Loser hero
Kishida failed three times the entrance exams of Tokyo Uniiversity, the most famous and prestigious national university in Japan. He eventually passed Waseda and finally got graduated from it. However, this episode tells that he seems to be a rebellion against the public officers, how dominate Kasumigaseki, the arena where the actual governance, legal scheme and political administration have been heavily controlled. The majority of those public officers are from Tokyo University and in that sense, people in Japan expect somehow Kishida that he could represent the people and fight against those old-fashioned and bureaucratic regimes.
5 Possibility of ending up a“Fake elite”
So far, Kishida looks quit smart, but somehow this can be interpreted as “to smart to be loved by people”. In ancient Chinse proberv says, as the criteria of leaders,
“Thoughtfulness and prudence” is a first-class qualification.
“Boldness and tolerance” is a second-class qualification.
“Smartness and cleverness” is a third-class qualification.
── Shingo Lu “Ginging”
So far, Kishida has already demonstrated his qualification regarding the third and the second points. However, when it comes to the first point, we are not sure how much he could be qualified. Most importantly, the first-class qualification is the most important to lead a long-lasting regime. We have been wondering how Kishida is going to demonstrate his first-class criteria for the beginning of his career as the PM.
Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com
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