Fumio Kishida: Prime Minister of Japan since 2021

Kishida is the Prime Minister of Japan since 4 October 2021. In September 2021, he was elected President of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan from 2012 to 2017 during the Shinzo Abe government. Kishida was elected to the House of Representatives in 1993.

His Excellency Fumio Kishida
岸田 文雄
Official portrait, 2021
Prime Minister of Japan
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 October 2021
Monarch	Naruhito
Preceded by	Yoshihide Suga
President of the Liberal Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 September 2021
Vice President	Tarō Asō
Secretary-General	Akira Amari Toshimitsu Motegi
Preceded by	Yoshihide Suga
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Acting 4 November 2021 – 10 November 2021
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Toshimitsu Motegi
Succeeded by	Yoshimasa Hayashi
In office 26 December 2012 – 3 August 2017
Prime Minister	Shinzō Abe
Preceded by	Kōichirō Genba
Succeeded by	Tarō Kōno
Minister of Defense
Acting
In office 28 July 2017 – 3 August 2017
Prime Minister	Shinzō Abe
Preceded by	Tomomi Inada
Succeeded by	Itsunori Onodera
Junior ministerial offices Minister of State for Okinawa and the Northern Territories In office 27 August 2007 – 1 August 2008 Prime Minister Shinzō Abe Yasuo Fukuda Preceded by Sanae Takaichi Succeeded by Motoo Hayashi Minister of State for Space In office 6 February 2008 – 1 August 2008 Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda Preceded by Office created Succeeded by Seiko Noda Minister of State for Consumers In office 18 June 2008 – 1 August 2008 Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda Preceded by Office created Succeeded by Seiko Noda Minister of State for Regulatory Reform In office 27 August 2007 – 1 August 2008 Prime Minister Shinzō Abe Yasuo Fukuda Preceded by Yoshimi Watanabe Succeeded by Kaoru Yosano Minister of State for Science, Technology and Quality of Life In office 27 August 2007 – 1 August 2008 Prime Minister Shinzō Abe Yasuo Fukuda Preceded by Office created Succeeded by Seiko Noda
Member of the House of Representatives from Hiroshima
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 October 1996
Preceded by	Constituency established
Constituency	1st district
Majority	117,800 (71.1%)
In office 18 July 1993 – September 27, 1996
Constituency	Former 1st district (Elect Four)
Personal details
Born	岸田文雄 (Kishida Fumio) (1957-07-29) 29 July 1957 (age 66) Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic
Spouse(s)	Yuko Kishida (m. 1988)
Children	3
Education	Kaisei Academy
Alma mater	Waseda University (LLB)
Signature

Kishida was born in Shibuya, Tokyo on 29 July 1957. He spent his early years in New York City.

Kishida studied law at Waseda University and graduated in 1982.

He is a member of the House of Representatives for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 1993. He served in Yasuo Fukuda's cabinet as minister of state for Okinawa and northern territories affairs, science and technology policy, quality-of-life policy, and regulatory Reform. He became the longest-serving foreign minister in postwar history, unseating Abe's father Shintaro Abe. In 2017, for a short time he was the Minister of Defense.

Leadership campaigns

Kishida thought about running in the 2018 LDP presidential election; but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked him into not to run and promised to support him as his replacement in the future. He ran in the 2020 LDP presidential election; however lost to Yoshihide Suga who was very popular among LDP politicians.

In August 2020, he announced his candidacy for the Liberal Democratic leadership election to replace Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He lost the election on 14 September to Yoshihide Suga, coming in second place. In August 2021, he announced his candidacy for the Liberal Democratic leadership again in the 2021 election. He won the leadership election on 29 September 2021.

Kishida officially became the 100th Prime Minister on 4 October 2021 after being elected by the National Diet. He set the date of the 2021 election for 31 October shortly before taking office. During the general election, the Liberal Democratic party lost fifteen seats in the House of Representatives; however still won the majority of seats.

On 15 April 2023, a man threw an explosive device at Kishida during a campaign event in Wakayama. The device exploded after a short delay during which Kishida was removed from the scene unharmed. The event took place nine months after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated.

Kishida is married to Yuko Kishida and has two children.