Kishi Nobuchiyo (岸信千世, 31), the nephew of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was killed in a shooting last July and the son of former Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, caused controversy by putting a family tree on his homepage profile when he announced that he would run for a member of the National Assembly. Asahi Shimbun reported on the 14th.
It is pointed out that the dark side of Japanese politics, which has a strong hereditary culture, has been revealed again, as he is from a prestigious Japanese politician and puts up being “from a gold spoon” as his main career. As the controversy grew, Nobuchiyo Kishi shut down his website.
Nobuchiyo Kishi is the son of former Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi (63), younger brother of former Prime Minister Abe. Former Defense Minister Kishi was adopted by his mother’s family as soon as he was born and has a different last name from former Prime Minister Abe. Former Defense Minister Kishi, who served two terms in the House of Councilors and a fourth term in the House of Representatives, resigned early this month due to deteriorating health, effectively retiring from politics. After graduating from Keio University, Nobuchiyo Kishi prepared for his entry into politics by working as a reporter for Fuji TV and then as his father’s secretary. He will run in Yamaguchi Prefecture, his father’s district, in the re-election and by-election to be held this April.
Kishi Nobuchiyo is evaluated as the best gold spoon in the Japanese political world where hereditary culture is strong. His father served as a member of the Diet and a minister, and his uncle is former Prime Minister Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. His grandfather, Shintaro Abe, served as a foreign minister, and his great-grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, was a Class A war criminal in the Pacific War and served as prime minister. Former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, who was the longest-serving prime minister before Abe, is the younger brother of Nobusuke Kishi. Since the deceased former Prime Minister Abe had no children, Nobuchiyo Kishi is virtually the only person who inherits the lineage of the Abe and Kishi families.
Although hereditary politics is natural in Japan, voters are very reluctant to put the family tree in the foreground. On social media such as Twitter, criticisms such as “evidence that politics is only a family business” “Is it only a family to put forward” “Is it a feudal society?” Regarding criticism of hereditary succession earlier this month when he announced his candidacy, Nobu Chiyo Kishi said, “Because it was a family environment (of a political family), the political topic was relatively friendly.”
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Source: Donga
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