Latest Fumio Kishida News

The candidates to be Japan's next leader include a former premier's son and a defense expert

Sep. 12, 2024 23:34 PM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan will have a new leader after outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s governing Liberal Democratic Party holds a vote on Sept. 27 to choose his replacement. They hope to shake off scandals that have dogged his government and regain public support. A record nine...

A record 9 lawmakers are vying to become Japan's leader, with pledges of change and stronger defense

Sep. 12, 2024 05:34 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — A record nine Japanese lawmakers formally entered the race on Thursday to replace outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as head of the governing party and leader of the nation, hoping to regain public support for the party following corruption scandals. Voting in the...

North Korea launches multiple ballistic missiles after Kim vowed to bolster war readiness

Sep. 11, 2024 23:37 PM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Thursday, its neighbors said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to put his nuclear force fully ready for battle with its rivals. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff...

Japan's economy is growing, but political uncertainty is among the risks

Sep. 08, 2024 21:51 PM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy grew at an annual rate of 2.9%, slower than the earlier report for 3.1% growth, in the April-June period, boosted by better wages and spending, revised government data showed Monday. That shows clear risks remain, including U.S. economic growth, which...

Japan's leader makes a farewell visit to Seoul and reaffirms sympathy for Korean colonial victims

Sep. 06, 2024 11:32 AM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Less than a month before leaving office, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Seoul and reaffirmed his sympathy for the suffering of Koreans during Japan’s colonial rule, as he and his South Korean counterpart Friday underscored the need to maintain warming...

Outgoing Japanese leader Kishida will visit South Korea for a summit on improving ties

Sep. 03, 2024 05:03 AM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Japan’s prime minister will arrive Friday in South Korea for what will likely be the last summit between the two leaders, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said Tuesday. It said outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s two-day visit was...

Japan's governing party to choose its head who will also be the new prime minister on Sept. 27

Aug. 20, 2024 04:55 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's ruling party said Tuesday it will hold a vote on Sept. 27 to choose its new leader after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s surprise announcement that he will be stepping down. The internal election must be held by the end of September, which marks the end of...

Japanese shrine that honors war dead, including convicted war criminals, is vandalized again

Aug. 19, 2024 04:08 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead, including convicted World War II war criminals, was vandalized again overnight Monday. “It is deplorable that an act seeking to denigrate the shrine’s dignity has happened again,” the shrine said in a...

Kishida vows to push rules-based order as Japan's defense chief visits Yasukuni 79 years after WWII

Aug. 15, 2024 10:03 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed to step up his country’s effort to defend a rules-based international order in a peace pledge made Thursday on the 79th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II. “We will never again repeat the tragedy of war” and...

Japan's first-ever megaquake advisory brings worry and confusion. What does it mean?

Aug. 14, 2024 23:33 PM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan, one of the most earthquake-prone nations on earth, issued its first-ever “megaquake advisory” last week after a powerful quake struck off the southeastern coast of the southern main island of Kyushu. The magnitude 7.1 quake caused no deaths or severe damage,...