Kishida Wenxiong may not run for the President of the Liberal Democratic Party due to the 'Political Black Gold' scandal. Visa delays between Macau and Taiwan escalate political tensions. Stay updated on the latest political developments in Japan and the strained relations between Macau and Taiwan.
Sources:
https://m.voc.com.cn/xhn/news/202408/20498852.html
https://wallstreetcn.com/articles/3723979
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20240813-%E6%BE%B3%E9%97%A8%E8%B5%B4%E5%8F%B0%E7%AD%BE%E8%AF%81%E5%9B%A0%E6%94%BF%E6%B2%BB%E5%8F%97%E5%BB%B6%E8%AF%AF-%E5%8F%B0%E6%B9%BE%E4%B8%8D%E6%8E%92%E9%99%A4%E6%92%A4%E6%BE%B3%E9%97%A8%E5%8A%9E%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%84-%E8%82%87%E5%9B%A0%E6%8B%92%E7%AD%BE-%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%AD
https://finance.sina.cn/futuremarket/qszx/2024-08-14/detail-inciqxcn4452759.d.html
Outline:
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:00:52) Kishida Wenxiong may not run for the President of the Liberal Democratic Party due to the "Political Black Gold" scandal-New Hunan
(00:03:40) Japanese politics is huge! Prime Minister Kishida announced: No longer running! Who will be the successor?
(00:06:32) Visa in Macau in Taiwan is delayed due to political delaying Taiwan.
Simply Politics, from China
Japanese PM Kishida Withdraws from LDP Race, Visa Delays Strain Macau-Taiwan Relations
Kishida Wenxiong may not run for the President of the Liberal Democratic Party due to the 'Political Black Gold' scandal. Visa delays between Macau and Taiwan escalate political tensions. Stay updated on the latest political developments in Japan and the strained relations between Macau and Taiwan.Sources:https://m.voc.com.cn/xhn/news/202408/20498852.htmlhttps://wallstreetcn.com/articles/3723979https://www.rfi.fr/cn/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20240813-%E6%BE%B3%E9%97%A8%E8%B5%B4%E5%8F%B0%E7%AD%BE%E8%AF%81%E5%9B%A0%E6%94%BF%E6%B2%BB%E5%8F%97%E5%BB%B6%E8%AF%AF-%E5%8F%B0%E6%B9%BE%E4%B8%8D%E6%8E%92%E9%99%A4%E6%92%A4%E6%BE%B3%E9%97%A8%E5%8A%9E%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%84-%E8%82%87%E5%9B%A0%E6%8B%92%E7%AD%BE-%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%ADhttps://finance.sina.cn/futuremarket/qszx/2024-08-14/detail-inciqxcn4452759.d.htmlOutline:(00:00:00) Introduction(00:00:52) Kishida Wenxiong may not run for the President of the Liberal Democratic Party due to the "Political Black Gold" scandal-New Hunan(00:03:40) Japanese politics is huge! Prime Minister Kishida announced: No longer running! Who will be the successor?(00:06:32) Visa in Macau in Taiwan is delayed due to political delaying Taiwan.
- Duration:
- 9m
- Broadcast on:
- 14 Aug 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
Good morning, and welcome to Simply Politics from China. It's Wednesday, August 14th. On today's show, Kishida Wenxiang may not run for the president of the Liberal Democratic Party due to the political black gold scandal in New Hunan. Japanese politics is in turmoil as Prime Minister Kishida announces he will no longer run, leaving the question of who will be the successor. Plus, visa processing in Macau for Taiwanese citizens is delayed due to political tensions. Stay tuned for more updates on these stories and more. I'm David, and you're listening to Simply Politics from China. We start off with a surprising turn of events in Japanese politics. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has reportedly expressed his intention not to participate in the upcoming Liberal Democratic Party or LDP presidential election. This comes in the wake of the political black money scandal that has rocked the party. Here to discuss this further is Michael, a correspondent for Simply Politics from China. Can you give us more details about this development? Yes, David. According to local Japanese media reports, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has communicated to LDP executives his decision not to run in the party's presidential election scheduled for September. It's expected that Kishida will resign as Prime Minister once the LDP elects a new president. What led to this decision by Prime Minister Kishida? The decision is believed to be a response to the LDP's political black money incident. As the president of the largest party in Japan's current ruling coalition and the country's Prime Minister, Kishida feels that someone has to take responsibility for the scandal. Hence, his decision to step aside. Can you give us some background on Prime Minister Kishida? Certainly. Fumio Kishida was born in Tokyo in July 1957. After graduating from Waseta University in 1982, he joined the long-term Credit Bank of Japan. He was first elected as a member of the House of Representatives in 1993. He first entered the Cabinet in 2007, serving as the Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs. In December 2012, he was appointed as the Minister for Foreign Affairs by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Following Abe's sudden resignation in August 2021, Kishida succeeded him as the president of the LDP and was elected as the 100th Prime Minister of Japan in October of the same year. And what can you tell us about this political black money scandal? The scandal was exposed within the LDP in November last year. Multiple factions of the LDP were revealed to have set sales targets for their subordinate national diet members, requiring them to sell political fundraising party tickets. Many funds exceeding the sales target would be returned to the members as kickbacks. As the scandal unfolded, several factions within the LDP, including the Kishida faction, Abe faction, and Nikai faction, were dissolved. Public opinion polls in Japan indicate that the incident has led to a rapid decline in the approval rating of the Kishida Cabinet. Coupled with recent inflation and the depreciation of the Yen, this may be a significant reason why Fumio Kishida is not participating in the LDP presidential election. Thanks for that report on the significant development in Japanese politics, Michael. Staying on the topic of Japan's political landscape, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced that he will not be running for re-election in the upcoming Liberal Democratic Party presidential election. Here to discuss this further is James, a correspondent for Simply Politics from China. Can you tell us more about this announcement? Yes, David. According to reports from Xinhua news agency and Japan Broadcasting Association, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has decided not to participate in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election scheduled for September. This decision implies that Kishida will resign as Prime Minister once a new president of the Liberal Democratic Party is elected. What has been the public reaction to this announcement? The announcement has certainly caused a stir. In fact, the Nikkei 225 index wiped out its previous 1% gain and was down 0.2% at the time of the announcement. Furthermore, recent polls show that the approval rating of the Kishida cabinet is at a low 21%, having been in the danger zone below 30% for 13 consecutive months. The disapproval rating is at a high of 73%, maintaining over 70% for 9 consecutive months. These figures indicate a significant level of public dissatisfaction with Kishida's leadership. What are the factors contributing to this dissatisfaction? One major factor is the black gold scandal that was exposed within the Liberal Democratic Party last year. Multiple factions of the party were revealed to have set sales targets for political fundraising party tickets to their national diet members. Any funds exceeding these targets would be returned to the members as kickbacks, effectively becoming unregulated secret funds. This scandal has significantly damaged the party's reputation and Kishida's approval rating. In fact, a recent poll showed that 70% of the Japanese public do not want Kishida to be re-elected as Prime Minister, and more than 80% believe that he has not fulfilled his responsibilities as the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in relation to the scandal. What does this mean for the future of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japanese political landscape? The implications are significant. With Kishida stepping down, the race for the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party is wide open. The party will need to elect a new leader who can restore public trust and navigate the party through this challenging period. As for the broader political landscape, this development could potentially shift the balance of power and influence the direction of Japanese politics in the coming years. Thanks for the update, James. Shifting our focus to another political development, visa applications from Macau to Taiwan have been delayed due to political reasons. Furthermore, Taiwan has not ruled out the possibility of withdrawing its Macau office due to the refusal to sign the One China Agreement. Here to discuss this further is Abi, a correspondent for Simply Politics from China. Can you shed more light on this situation? Certainly, David. The visa application process from Macau to Taiwan has been experiencing delays, and it appears that political reasons are at the heart of this issue. The One China Agreement, which asserts that Taiwan as part of China, is a significant point of contention. Taiwan has indicated that it may withdraw its Macau office due to the refusal to sign this agreement. What implications does this have for relations between Taiwan and Macau? This development could potentially strain relations between Taiwan and Macau. The One China Agreement is a sensitive issue, and Taiwan's potential withdrawal of its Macau office could be seen as a significant political statement. This could lead to increased tensions and have a broader impact on cross-strait relations. What are the potential consequences of this for individuals and businesses in both regions? The delay in visa applications could have a significant impact on individuals and businesses. For individuals, this could affect travel plans and potentially disrupt family connections across the Strait. For businesses, this could impact trade, investment, and other economic activities between the two regions. The potential withdrawal of Taiwan's Macau office could further complicate these issues. What can we expect in the coming days regarding this issue? It's difficult to predict exactly what will happen, but it's clear that this issue will continue to be a point of contention in the near future. Both sides will likely be closely monitoring the situation and considering their next steps. This is certainly a situation that we will be keeping a close eye on. Indeed, a situation to watch closely. Thanks for that report, Abby. And with that, we wrap up our stories for today. Thanks for listening to Simply Politics from China. We'll see you back here tomorrow. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]