When the ordinary session of Japan’s parliament convenes in a few weeks, Fumio Kishida will have served as the nation’s prime minister for just a little over three months.
During that time, he led the Liberal Democratic Party through a Lower House election, managed a series of pandemic-related issues and passed the largest supplemental budget in Japan’s history. His public opinion ratings are holding steady at respectable levels and his swift response to the omicron variant bought him some credit with the Japanese public.
Still, Kishida’s long-term position atop the government is by no means assured. The path ahead for him this year will not be easy and he has major obstacles to overcome if he hopes to enjoy greater success than his predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, who bowed out within a year of taking office.