How long can Kishida remain successful without making enemies?

Kishida (right) listening to a stump speech by Komeito Chief Representative Natsuo Yamaguchi during the most recent House of Representatives election campaign in Sakai, Osaka, in 2021. — The Yomiuri Shimbun/ANN

SHOHEI Ohtani, a star player of the Los Angeles Angels Major League Baseball team, is one of Japan's top-rated celebrities. After he appeared in TV commercials for men's skin care products, their sales significantly increased.

Can Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sell ideas and policies as effectively as Ohtani sells lotions and creams? In recent reputation surveys on Japanese politicians, many respondents said Kishida has been lucky and has few enemies, reflecting the rare political condition of being neither greatly hated nor greatly loved.