Nobuo Kishi

Nobuo Kishi (岸 信夫, Kishi Nobuo, born 1 April 1959) is a Japanese politician. He sat in the House of Representatives from 2012 to 2023 representing Yamaguchi’s 2nd District as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. From September 2020 to August 2022 he served as the Minister of Defense. He is the younger biological brother of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Nobuo Kishi
岸 信夫
Official portrait, 2021
Minister of Defense
In office
16 September 2020 – 10 August 2022
Prime MinisterYoshihide Suga
Fumio Kishida
Preceded byTarō Kōno
Succeeded byYasukazu Hamada
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
12 December 2012 – 3 March 2023
Preceded byHideo Hiraoka
Succeeded byNobuchiyo Kishi
ConstituencyYamaguchi 2nd district
Member of the House of Councillors
In office
26 June 2004 – 30 November 2012
Preceded byMasuo Matsuoka
Succeeded byEjima Kiyoshi
ConstituencyYamaguchi
Personal details
Born
安倍 信夫 (Abe Nobuo)

(1959-04-01) 1 April 1959
Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic
Parents
Relatives
Alma materKeio University (BEc)

Early life

Nobuo is the third son of Shintaro Abe and Yoko Abe (née Kishi). He was born in Tokyo. Shortly after his birth, he was adopted by his maternal uncle, Seibu Oil chairman Nobukazu Kishi, who could not have children of his own.[1] He did not know about his actual parentage, or his relationship with Shintaro Abe's other sons (Hironobu and Shinzo Abe), until he was preparing to enter university.

Kishi spent the first decade of his life living in Tokyo with his grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi.[2] He graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Keio University in 1981 and joined Sumitomo Corporation, where he worked until 2002. His postings included the United States, Vietnam, and Australia.

Political career
Meeting with Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobuo Kishi

With his brother Abe's backing, Kishi was elected to the House of Councillors in 2004, representing Yamaguchi Prefecture.[2] He became known as a specialist in security issues.[3] He has served as Parliamentary Secretary for Defense (Fukuda and Aso Cabinet), Vice Chairman, LDP Diet Affairs Committee in the House of Councillors, Vice Chairman, Party Organization and Campaign Headquarters of LDP, Chairman, Special Committee on Okinawa and Northern Problems.[4]

Abe government

Kishi was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2012 Japanese general election after resigning from his House of Councillors seat. He re-took a seat in Yamaguchi Prefecture that had previously belonged to his grandfather Nobusuke Kishi and great-uncle Eisaku Sato, but that had been lost to the Democratic Party of Japan in the 2009 Japanese general election.[2] Following the 2012 election, Kishi's brother Abe became Prime Minister. Kishi was promoted to Senior Vice Foreign Minister in 2013.[5]

Kishi became known during this time for his role in promoting the Japan-Taiwan relationship. He helped to arrange an historic meeting between Prime Minister Abe and ROC opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen in 2015.[2] After Tsai's reelection as president, Kishi met with Tsai in Taiwan in January 2020 and again in July 2020 (when he attended the funeral of President Lee Teng-hui).[6]

In 2019, he publicly advocated for Japan acquiring strike capabilities as a defensive measure against North Korea, stating that Japan should not rely upon the United States for defense.[3]

Suga and Kishida governments
Kishi with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in May 2022

Kishi was appointed as Minister of Defense under Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in September 2020. Commentator Michael Bosack described this as "a strange pick that signals factional influence and possibly a personal favor," and argued that the faction led by Hiroyuki Hosoda was clearly trying to build Kishi's credentials.[7] Following the news of Kishi's appointment, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman expressed hope that Japan would refrain from developing official ties with Taiwan.[6]

In October 2020, Kishi released a joint statement with Australian Minister of Defense Linda Reynolds that announced that Japan's Self Defense Forces would be enabled to protect Australian military assets, an act which was made legal in September 2015 through the "Peace and Security Preservation Legislation" passed under the Abe administration. This makes Australia the second country (after the United States) whose assets Japan would be permitted to protect.[8] Kishi and Reynolds also emphasized their opposition to "any destabilizing or coercive unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions in the East China Sea," and some analysts have speculated this to be in reference to Chinese maritime activities around the Senkaku Islands.[9] In a September 2021 interview with the Mainichi Shimbun, Kishi stated that Japan cannot stand aside when events occur in Taiwan due to being close neighbors and allies with shared universal values such as freedom and democracy.[10] In 2021, he visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, making him the first sitting Defense Minister to do so since 2016. In response, the South Korean Foreign Ministry described his visit as "deplorable".[11]

After Suga's resignation as Prime Minister, his successor Fumio Kishida opted to retain Kishi as Defense minister after taking office in October 2021. Nikkei noted that this sent a message of continuity in Japan's policies toward China and Taiwan.[12]

After the assassination of Shinzo Abe on 8 July 2022, Nobuo Kishi had to disclose that the relationship with the controversial Unification Church, also known as the "Moon Sect", extends to him and the help he received in past elections.[13][14][15] Kishida replaced him as Defense Minister a month later.[16] He announced plans to resign from the House of Representatives due to health issues, making way for a by-election on April 23, 2023.[17]

Positions

Like his brother Shinzō, Kishi is affiliated to the openly revisionist lobby Nippon Kaigi,[18] and a member of the following right-wing groups at the Diet:

  • Nippon Kaigi Diet discussion group (日本会議国会議員懇談会 - Nippon kaigi kokkai giin kondankai)
  • Conference of parliamentarians on the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership (神道政治連盟国会議員懇談会) - NB: SAS a.k.a. Sinseiren, Shinto Political League, Shinto Seiji Renmei Kokkai Giin Kondankai
  • Japan Rebirth (創生「日本」- Sosei Nippon)

Kishi gave the following answers to the questionnaire submitted by Mainichi to parliamentarians in 2012:[19]

  • in favor of the revision of the Constitution
  • in favor of right of collective self-defense (revision of Article 9)
  • against the reform of the National assembly (unicameral instead of bicameral)
  • in favor of reactivating nuclear power plants
  • against the goal of zero nuclear power by 2030s
  • in favor of the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma (Okinawa)
  • against the evaluation of the purchase of Senkaku Islands by the Government
  • in favor of a strong attitude versus China
  • against the participation of Japan to the Trans-Pacific Partnership
  • in favor of considering a nuclear-armed Japan in the future (however, after his appointment as defense minister in 2020, he stated that this would "never happen")[2]
  • against the reform of the Imperial Household that would allow women to retain their Imperial status even after marriage

In a March 2014 interview, he argued that nationalism was not on the rise in Japan, and that the Abe government would not change Japan's record of striving for peace as a member of international society.[20]

Family
Nobusuke Kishi during the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce (1923) From left: Yoshiko Kishi, Nobukazu Kishi, Nobusuke Kishi, Hiroshi Yoshida (front row) and Eisaku Sato (back row)
  • Grandfather: Kan Abe (politician), Nobusuke Kishi (bureaucrat, prime minister)
  • Adopted father (maternal uncle): Nobukazu Kishi (Seibu Oil Chairman Nobusuke Kishi's eldest son)
  • Adoptive mother (aunt-in-law): Nakako (Yamaguchi Prefectural Assembly Chairman Joji Tanabe )
  • Biological father: Shintaro Abe (Foreign Minister)
  • Biological mother: Yoko Abe (Nobusuke Kishi's eldest daughter)
  • Great uncle: Eisaku Sato (Prime Minister)
  • Eldest brother: Hironobu Abe
  • Second brother: Shinzo Abe
  • Eldest son: Nobuyoshi Kishi (former Fuji TV reporter, secretary after becoming a minister)

References
  1. Kamiya, Setsuko (2006-12-30). "Cultural attitudes spell few adoptions". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2018-11-01. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  2. Osaki, Tomohiro (2020-09-17). "Nobuo Kishi, Abe's younger brother, seeks to carve out new role as Japan's defense chief". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  3. Johnson, Jesse; Osaki, Tomohiro (2020-09-16). "Suga expected to take back seat in shaping Japan's foreign policy". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  4. "Profile of Kishi Nobuo on LDP website". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  5. "Abe appoints more women, brother to senior government posts". The Japan Times. 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  6. "Taiwan ties of Japan's new defence chief spark China reaction". South China Morning Post. 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  7. Bosack, Michael MacArthur (2020-09-16). "Breaking down Suga's picks for his first Cabinet". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  8. "Japan and Australia to coordinate on protection of military assets". The Japan Times. 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  9. Bosack, Michael MacArthur (2020-10-22). "Five takeaways from the Australia-Japan defense ministers' joint statement". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  10. Matthew Strong (September 9, 2021). "Japan's defense minister says Tokyo cannot stand aside from developments in Taiwan". Taiwan News. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021.
  11. "Japanese Defense Chief Visits Contentious War Shrine". VOA. 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  12. "Japan's Kishida to retain foreign and defense ministers". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  13. "Au Japon, la boîte de Pandore s'ouvre peu à peu après la mort de Shinzo Abe". l'Opinion. July 27, 2022.
  14. "Japan defense minister had help from Unification Church in elections". The Japan Times. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  15. "Japan defense minister had help from Unification Church in elections". July 26, 2022. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022 – via Mainichi Daily News.
  16. "Japan PM revamps Cabinet to reverse flagging public support". Kyodo News+. 2022-08-10.
  17. "Ex-Japan defense chief Kishi to resign as lawmaker over health issues". Japan Times. 2023-02-03.
  18. Nippon Kaigi website
  19. "2012衆院選 山口２区 岸 信夫 - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)". senkyo.mainichi.jp.
  20. "Nationalism not on the rise: Abe's brother". The Japan Times. 2014-03-21. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
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