Last week marked Prime Minister Fumio Kishida¡¯s first full year as the country¡¯s leader, which he began by pledging to turn the economy around by shifting to what he calls a ¡°new form of capitalism.¡±
Yet the agenda has hardly moved forward, with his Cabinet facing daunting economic challenges in recent months, including inflation, the yen¡¯s plummeting value against the dollar and the COVID-19 pandemic. Kishida has faced political headwinds too, such as dubious ties between his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the controversial Unification Church.
¡°The Kishida administration has been preoccupied just responding to immediate issues over the past year,¡± said Daiju Aoki, chief Japan economist at UBS Sumi Trust Wealth Management.
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