Japan PM hopeful Kishida slammed over ‘wife maid’ Twitter photo, as Suga makes bid

The former foreign minister, 63, attracted a swift backlash for sharing a picture showing his wife serving him a meal in an apron

The controversy came as Abe’s top aide Yoshihide Suga, seen as the clear front runner, announced his bid to replace his boss

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Fumio Kishida’s picture showing his wife serving him dinner attracted a firestorm of criticism. Photo: Twitter

Published: 5:39pm, 2 Sep 2020Updated: 10:40pm, 5 Oct 2020

If he had a slim chance before, Fumio Kishida has now effectively written himself out of the race to become the new leader of Japan’s ruling party after sharing an “anachronistic” photo of his wife on Twitter, critics said.

The image, posted on Monday night, shows the politician seated in a suit and tie as his wife serves him a meal in an apron, with Kishida saying he was grateful she had travelled from his hometown 800km away to support him in Tokyo.

But the optics attracted a swift backlash as the race to become the Liberal Democratic Party’s president heated up on Wednesday, with Yoshihide Suga formally announcing his bid.

Analysts say Suga, the top government spokesman, is all but assured of getting the role, and by default, becoming Japan’s next prime minister.

Kishida has been at pains to present himself as part of the more progressive element of the LDP … this rather shatters that image

Noriko Hama, Doshisha University

Kishida, a former foreign minister whose family lives in Hiroshima in southern Japan, has confirmed he is running and is ready to take over from outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.