[Grandpa Saw It!] Part 1: Focusing on the Special Advisors to the Prime Minister!?
My heart is Gen Z! My body is a Showa-era person over 60! I am Grandpa, a supporter of Gen Z!?
The second Kishida reshuffled Cabinet, which was launched on September 13, 2023, was covered extensively by the media.
The Ministers of State, known as Cabinet members, were announced on September 13, and the list of Senior Vice-Ministers, Parliamentary Vice-Ministers, and Special Advisors to the Prime Minister under them was announced on September 15.
Ministers are naturally the focus of attention, but this time, the Senior Vice-Ministers and Parliamentary Vice-Ministers also drew attention.This is because they were all men.
However, perhaps because of that,the Special Advisors to the Prime Minister were completely off the radarand I didn't see much reporting on them, so I took a peek at the list.
It's interesting.
✅ A Cabinet that turns change into power
Out of 20 Cabinet members, 5 are women (25%), which is tied for the highest number ever, emphasizing that this is a Cabinet that considers women's empowerment and diversity.
However, there were also critical reports that not a single woman was included in the lists of Senior Vice-Ministers and Parliamentary Vice-Ministers, totaling 54 people.
I'm sure even Mr. Kishida knew that having only men as Senior Vice-Ministers and Parliamentary Vice-Ministers was not a good look.
It seems the faction recommendations were all men, andthe denominator of female lawmakers themselves is smallso it's probably impossible unless you appoint people from the private sector.
In particular, the female LDP lawmakers who got carried away while calling it a study tour to France later made excuses like 'We paid for it ourselves, so what's the problem?' which caused further backlash, exposing their poor sense as politicians and receiving a baptism from the public.
Because of that, it seems the faction leaders were scared to recommend women.
✅ Let's take a look at the lists of Senior Vice-Ministers and Parliamentary Vice-Ministers!
First, the list of Senior Vice-Ministers. 26 people, all men.
Next, the list of Parliamentary Vice-Ministers. 28 people, all men.
Mr. Kishida isn't stupid, so he could easily imagine that he would be criticized by the media for having 54 men.
Even so, this might bea strategy in the hope that someone would surely bring up the fact that there is such a shortage of talent that no female lawmaker's name could be included hereafter all.
If it was a Kishida strategy to pass the LGBT bill even at the cost of drawing the resentment of LDP conservatives, and now to build momentum for a female lawmaker quota system bill that would absolutely never gain support within the LDP, then he might just be a tactician who will leave his name in history.
✅ The Special Advisor to the Prime Minister who created a buzz with 54 men and then made it disappear!
This 👇 is the list of Special Advisors to the Prime Minister. Not only are 2 out of 5 of them women (40%), but they have also appointed Wakako Yada, a former House of Councillors member and advisor to the Democratic Party for the People, as the person in charge of wages and employment just recently.
Don't you think Kishida is a tactician?
During the cabinet reshuffle, while there wasn't much news, a coalition with the Democratic Party for the People (led by Representative Tamaki) became a topic of conversation.
A coalition didn't materialize, but the appointment of Wakako Yada, who had just stepped down as an advisor to the Democratic Party for the People, certainly feels intentional.
Let's take a closer look at the list of Special Advisors to the Prime Minister in the second part.
Thank you for reading until the end.
If you liked it, please click the 'Like' 🤍 button 😊😊
If you leave a comment, I'll be jumping for joy 😂😂😂
▼ The second installment has been added to the 'Grandpa Saw It!' series sitemap.
▼ Please support Grandpa, the cheerleader for Generation Z.