The announcement by Japanese PM, Fumio Kishida that he will not stand in the upcoming ruling LDP presidential election in September means that Japan will soon have (yet another) new prime minister, and comes after a political funding scandal that has dogged the incumbent for months. Support for the Kishida cabinet sank as far as 15.5% in early July although it has "recovered" to almost 25% more recently.
Kishida was closely associated with - and announced - the enormous ¥10 trillion University Fund (then worth US$88 billion) in Fall 2021 intended to promote science and technology-led economic growth in such areas as clean energy generation and storage.
Given the speed with which major political initiatives are typically introduced in Japan we do not expect to see much immediate change in science and research policy. However, unless the new LDP president and therefore Japan PM, whoever he (or less likely she) is can revive the fortunes of the party before the next schedule elections on October 31st 2025, the composition of the Diet could change significantly. In that case - as with the 2009 general election when the center-left DPJ effected a rare takeover of power from the LDP and subsequently undertook a radical review of large-scale research projects in which white pantsuited DPJ then rising star Renho took on the likes of Sidney Brenner and members of the RIKEN gerontocracy in memorable televised hearings - things could potentially look different.
We'll be keeping our eye on developments and what they might mean for Japan's science and engineering communities going forward.
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