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Nobuo Kishi

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Japanese politician (born 1959)

Nobuo Kishi
岸信夫
Official portrait, 2021

Minister of Defense
In office 16 September 2020 – 10 August 2022
Prime Minister	Yoshihide Suga Fumio Kishida
Preceded by	Taro Kono
Succeeded by	Yasukazu Hamada
Member of theHouse of Representatives
In office 12 December 2012 – 3 March 2023
Preceded by	Hideo Hiraoka
Succeeded by	Nobuchiyo Kishi
Constituency	Yamaguchi 2nd
Member of theHouse of Councillors
In office 26 June 2004 – 30 November 2012
Preceded by	Masuo Matsuoka
Succeeded by	Kiyoshi Ejima
Constituency	Yamaguchi at-large

Personal details
Born	安倍信夫 (Abe Nobuo) (1959-04-01)1 April 1959 (age 66) Tokyo,Japan
Party	Liberal Democratic
Spouse	Chikako Kishi
Children	Nobuchiyo Kishi
Parents	Shintaro Abe (biological father) Yoko Kishi (biological mother) Nobukazu Kishi [ja] (adopted father)
Relatives	Satō–Kishi–Abe family
Alma mater	Keio University (BEc)

Nobuo Kishi (岸信夫,Kishi Nobuo; born 1 April 1959) is a Japanesepolitician. He sat in theHouse of Representatives from 2012 to 2023 representingYamaguchi’s2nd District as a member of theLiberal Democratic Party. From September 2020 to August 2022 he served as theMinister of Defense. He is the younger brother of former Japanese prime ministerShinzo Abe.

Early life

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Nobuo is the third son ofShintaro Abe andYoko Abe (née Kishi). He was born in Tokyo. Shortly after his birth, he wasadopted 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 ministerNobusuke Kishi.^[2] He graduated from the Faculty of Economics atKeio University in 1981 and joinedSumitomo Corporation, where he worked until 2002. His postings included the United States, Vietnam, and Australia.

Political career

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With his brother Abe's backing, Kishi was elected to the House of Councillors in 2004, representingYamaguchi 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

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Meeting with Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobuo Kishi

Kishi was elected to theHouse of Representatives in the2012 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 grandfatherNobusuke Kishi and great-uncleEisaku Sato, but that had been lost to theDemocratic Party of Japan in the2009 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 leaderTsai Ing-wen in 2015.^[2] After Tsai'sreelection as president, Kishi met with Tsai in Taiwan in January 2020 and again in July 2020 (when he attended thefuneral of PresidentLee Teng-hui).^[6]

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

Suga and Kishida governments

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Kishi was appointed as Minister of Defense under Prime MinisterYoshihide 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 byHiroyuki 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 withAustralian Minister of Defense Linda Reynolds that announced that Japan'sSelf 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 theEast China Sea," and some analysts have speculated this to be in reference toChinese maritime activities around the Senkaku Islands.^[9] In a September 2021 interview with theMainichi Shimbun, Kishi stated that Japan cannot stand aside when events occur inTaiwan due to being close neighbors and allies with shared universal values such as freedom and democracy.^[10]

In 2021, he visited thecontroversial Yasukuni Shrine, making him the first sitting Defense Minister to visit theYasukuni shrine since 2016. In response, the South Korean Foreign Ministry described his visit as "deplorable".^[11] The Chinese public condemned his visit, which occurred during a domestic Chinese public and political controversy regarding Chinese actor-singerZhang Zhehan's photographs with the shrine visible in the background.^[12]^: 49–50

After Suga's resignation as prime minister, his successorFumio 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.^[13]

Retirement from politics

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After theassassination of Shinzo Abe on 8 July 2022, Nobuo Kishi had to disclose that the relationship with the controversialUnification Church, also known as the "Moon Sect", extends to him. Kishi acknowledged that members of the group participated as volunteers in his campaign activities, including tasks such as telephone campaigning.^[14]^[15]^[16] Kishida replaced him as Defense Minister a month later.^[17]

He announced plans to resign from theHouse of Representatives due to health issues in 2022, making way for aby-election on 23 April 2023.^[18] He was replaced in the House by his son,Nobuchiyo, who won the election with 52.47% of the vote.^[19]

Political positions

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Kishi with US Secretary of DefenseLloyd Austin in May 2022

Kishi gave the following answers to the questionnaire submitted byMainichi to parliamentarians in 2012:^[20]

in favor of the revision of the Constitution
in favor of right of collective self-defense (revision ofArticle 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 therelocation 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 theTrans-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.^[21]

Affiliated organizations and parliamentary associations

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Like his brother Shinzō, Kishi is affiliated with the openlyrevisionist lobbyNippon Kaigi,^[22] and a member of the followingright-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)

Personal life

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Kishi began using a cane in 2021, reportedley missed a cabinet meeting in 2021 due to an undisclosed health issue.^[23] In 2022, Kishi started to usewheelchair after being diagnosed with aurinary tract infection, which influenced his decision to retire from politics that year.^[24] His son,Nobuchiyo Kishi, succeeded him in representingYamaguchi's 2nd district in the House of Representatives.