Former PM Abe: Prime Minister Kishida should handle personnel matters as he sees fit

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was then the chairperson of the policy research council of the Liberal Democratic Party, attend a ceremony in the Diet building in Tokyo in June launching the parliamentarian association for creating a new type of capitalism. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

The year 2022 will test Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. How should he deal with the pandemic, foreign affairs, the economy and other issues? This is the second installment in a series of articles on how authoritative figures in various fields view such topics. The first installment was excerpted from remarks by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a Yomiuri Shimbun interview. This installment contains more of Abe's comments.