(Bloomberg) – Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida‘s poor handling of a scandal over the ruling party’s slush fund has created distrust among voters, his predecessor said in an interview on Sunday, adding that a sense of change would be needed in the upcoming party leadership election.
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‘Many people are suspicious because he has not mentioned his own responsibility’ Yoshihide Suga, who remains a lawmaker with the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said in the video interview with Bungei Shunju magazine. “It is important to convey the feeling that the LDP has changed when voting on the party leadership,” he added.
The comments represent one of the highest criticisms of Kishida within his party and come about three months before the vote on the choice of the party’s next leader. Kishida’s chances of staying in office appear to be shrinking as public support for his cabinet fell to a new low in a poll released this weekend.
The Yomiuri newspaper found support at 23%, the lowest since he took office in 2021, even after Kishida announced additional help for households on Friday with their utility bills and an extension of gasoline subsidies. A tax cut has also failed to calm voters angry about the scandal and concerned about falling real incomes as wages fail to keep pace with rising prices.
Suga said many LDP lawmakers were concerned that the party could be ousted in the next general election if changes are not made. He did not endorse a candidate to replace Kishida but praised former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has consistently topped the polls as voters’ choice to become the next prime minister. Ishiba has distanced himself from the current government.
Asked whether he is considering calling a general election, Kishida has repeatedly said he is focusing on urgent tasks. When asked how they would vote if the election were held now, 29% of Yomiuri survey respondents said they would choose the LDP, while 14% would choose the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party. The general election does not have to be held until 2025.
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