Leadership lacking in LDP leadership race; neither Kishida nor rivals show vision for nation

July 16, 2024

TOKYO – “Who is likely to be the next Liberal Democratic Party president?”

Walking around Tokyo’s Nagatacho political district these days, one often hears this question asked by Diet members and their secretaries. Since the Diet session ended on June 23, Japanese politics has been dominated by the LDP presidential election scheduled for this autumn. As the president of the ruling LDP will also become the prime minister, the intense interest is natural. But it is worrying that there seems to be a lack of substantive debate.

Whether Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is reelected or a new leader is chosen, the real question should be: What policies should be implemented, and how? It is also essential to show how the LDP should be reformed in order to resolve the political mistrust that has arisen as a result of some of its factions’ violations of the Political Funds Control Law.

However, most LDP lawmakers are only focused on the question of which leader can boost the sluggish approval ratings of the Cabinet and the party and gain an advantage in the next House of Representatives election as well as next summer’s House of Councillors election. The term of office of members of the House of Representatives expires in October next year.

In some respects, this is unavoidable, as there is a strong possibility that the two Diet elections, in which the lawmakers’ political lives will be at stake, will be held under the administration of whoever wins the contest for the party presidency. Nevertheless, there is also a danger that the election will only be a popularity contest. One former cabinet minister is concerned that “if we simply change the ‘face’ of the leader without a vision, the voters will see right through our