Japan’s US, South Korea defence pact won’t help Kishida’s ‘weak position’ as living costs surge

The Camp David summit to discuss security issues is not expected to help reverse sliding public support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida

Analysts say the Japanese public is more concerned about the rising cost of living than security issues

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Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida departing for the US for meetings with the US and South Korean leaders on August 17, 2023. Photo JIJI Press/AFP

Published: 9:30am, 18 Aug 2023

Defence will dominate the discussions when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at Camp David on Friday, with the Japanese leader hopeful that promises of greater security would help boost public support for him at home.

While the growing aggression of China and the unpredictability of the regime in North Korea are among issues that concern Japanese, ordinary people were more worried about everyday matters such as the rising cost of living, an analyst said.

As a result, any firm commitments on defence from the United States and a closer security relationship with South Korea that emerge from the three-way summit are unlikely to halt the gradual slide in domestic support for Kishida.

The latest poll of public support for the prime minister, conducted earlier this month by Jiji Press, puts Kishida’s rate at 26.6 per cent, down 4.2 percentage points from July. Worryingly for the government, the continued slide from a high in the mid-60s when he first came to power in October 2021 now places the prime minister below the crucial 30 per cent line, considered the “danger zone” in Japanese politics.

Kishida’s support has been buffeted by concerns over the release of water contaminated with radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant and a political scandal involving a deputy minister, Masatoshi Akimoto, who stepped down from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party this month for allegedly accepting bribes from a businessman. The public has also been angered by glitches in the roll-out of My Number personal identification cards.

But the biggest worry for most Japanese is rising costs for everyday items such as food and fuel.