Kishida’s sub-20% approval rate is good news for China

TOKYO – That loud ticking sound emanating from the Japanese capital is Fumio Kishida’s political clock counting down toward zero.

Approval ratings in the neighborhood of 30% tend to spell the end of Japanese governments. Prime Minister Kishida’s is now below 20% – and dropping as the economy sinks into recession and inflation outpaces wage growth.

The rising odds that Kishida will soon be shown the door is stellar news for Xi Jinping’s China and a dismal turn of events for Joe Biden’s White House.

Since grabbing the premiership in October 2021, Kishida has been as close an ally to US President Biden as any. And a pivotal one, representing a key pillar of Biden’s “Indo-Pacific strategy” to encircle an ascendant China.