Japan’s Kishida to push ‘new capitalism’ after LDP wins majority in lower house

Fumio Kishida, former foreign minister of Japan, at his office in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021.

Japan’s Kishida to push ‘new capitalism’ after LDP wins majority in lower house

By Marites Dañguilan Vitug

With a fresh mandate, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the ruling coalition are set to implement a more robust response to the COVID-19 crisis, a redistributive economic policy,  increased defense spending and stronger ties with its allies.

Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito lost a few seats in the October 31 elections—they won at least 261 of the 465 seats but this still gives them the majority, an effective control of the lower house.

This victory did not come as a surprise. Harukata Takenaka, professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, said in an October 26 webinar organized by the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) that the LDP and Komeito were expected to “maintain a majority” in the lower house elections. (You can watch the webinar here.)

After all, the LDP has dominated Japan’s politics since 1955 except for a brief interruption when the Democratic Party of Japan became the ruling party, according to CALD’s briefing paper. After losing its grip on power, the DPJ disintegrated and morphed into the Constitutional Democratic Party.

In the same online forum with the theme, “Japan’s 2021 Elections: Issues, Challenges and Prospects,” Saul Takahashi, professor at the Osaka Jogakuin University, pointed out that “one of the reasons the LDP is so strong is precisely because they have been in power for so long. They’ve managed to create networks of entrenched interests…they’ve got a very strong party structure which most of the other opposition parties lack.”

The opposition has remained weak and has been unable to “get its act together,” Takahashi added.

The Japan election forum was part of CALD’s 2021 virtual conferences that looked at Asian political parties and the challenges they faced during the pandemic. Beyond this, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, CALD chairperson, said in his remarks that it is important to watch Japan’s elections since these have “broader international and regional implications.” Japan, as member of the Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which is composed of democratic countries with vibrant economies, “is crucial to bolster the confidence of Asian liberals and democrats that democracies can withstand the counter the rise and influence of non-democratic countries.”

‘New capitalism’

Amid this longevity of one-party politics, it appears that apathy has seeped in. Majority or 62% of Japanese believe that “elections do not change things,” as shown in a Pew Research Center survey in 2018. Kishida recognizes this. He has thus warned that the growing gulf between politicians and the public is a clear sign of a “crisis of democracy.” 

What stimulated debate during the campaign, though, was Kishida’s proposed economic policies which he called “new Japanese capitalism,” said Takenaka, who specializes in Japan’s politics. This “new capitalism” combines growth and distribution policies aimed at redistributing wealth and narrowing the inequality gap. These include:

•  increased spending on science and technology;
• developing 5G infrastructure throughout the country;
• promoting distribution of more benefits to employees;
•  increased financial assistance to the middle class for housing and education; and
• raising wages for certain professions such as nurses and caregivers.

In foreign policy, Takenaka said that the LDP has committed to strengthen Japan’s alliances with the United States, Australia, India, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Europe and Taiwan. Kishida is seen to continue what he has done when he was foreign minister during part of then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s term.

Japan, moreover, will have a “new agreement with Australia which will make it much easier for Australian troops to visit Japan and vice-versa,” Takenaka pointed out. In addition, naval forces of the Quad countries—India, United States, Australia and Japan—have started conducting joint annual maritime exercises.

On national security, the Japanese academic pointed out that Kishida and the LDP aim to increase defense spending to improve the country’s “deterrent capabilities.”

‘Super middle power’

Richard Heydarian, an associate professor at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, provided context to the discussion by pointing out that Japan is a “super middle power” in the region. Its navy is among the world’s most powerful and the country is the third largest economy in the world. In Southeast Asia, Japan remains a major player in infrastructure development, providing aid, grants and loans.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Heydarian said, has “displayed its ability to project power beyond Japan’s immediate waters.” Japan is also “rapidly building up maritime security cooperation” with ASEAN countries by providing multi-role vessels to the coast guards of countries like the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. Thus, “on multiple fronts, Japan has been reasserting its position as a kind of super middle power,” Heydarian stressed.

As for the new leader, Kishida unavoidably appears to be in the shadow of Shinzo Abe who was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. Takahashi said that Abe remains “extremely influential” in the LDP and is regarded as a “kingmaker.” However, Takahashi finds Kishida to be “a little bit more independent-minded.” He can “fend off the wolves from the right-wing camp of the LDP…and walk down his own independent path.”

Some analysts have described Kishida as a “consensus builder” who likes to reach out to people on the ground and “listen well.” These qualities may help him respond more effectively to the pandemic. One of the reasons Yoshihide Suga stepped down as prime minister after only a year in office was his dwindling support because of his inability to stem the Delta-driven wave of COVID-19.

In the weeks leading up to the elections, however, the situation improved. Cases in Japan have plummeted, its lowest in 11 months, thanks to a belated but rapid vaccination campaign, among other factors.

It remains to be seen if luck will stay on Kishida’s side.

Marites Danguilan Vitug is an author and journalist. She is editor-at-large of Rappler.