Japan PM Kishida’s mixed domestic record, poor fiscal discipline may lead to abrupt policy shifts

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida swept to power in 2021, buoyantly touting

his “ability to listen”

and vowing to show that his party had been “reborn”.

In doing so, he championed

his trademark policies:

a “new form of capitalism” to ensure wealth distribution, and a “digital garden city vision” to use digital services to solve rural issues.