TOKYO: With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announcing his plans to resign for health reasons, members of his ruling party are maneuvering furiously ahead of an internal vote that will ultimately decide his successor.
Executives from Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party met on Tuesday and decided that the Sept. 14 vote for the party’s leader, and with it almost certainly the prime minister, will be limited to lawmakers and not broader members of the government. match.
Some younger legislators had called for the latter to be included to make the process more open and democratic.
Whoever is elected will serve for the remainder of Abe’s term, until September 2021.
The next prime minister will face a number of challenges, including the ongoing fight against Covid-19, managing the Tokyo Olympics that have been postponed to next summer, establishing Japan’s security policy vis-à-vis a China. increasingly assertive and managing the results. They are from the presidential elections in the United States, Japan’s key ally.
These are the three candidates, who have announced their intention to run or are expected to do so:
Yoshihide Suga – Japan’s top government spokesman and Abe’s longtime right-hand man, 71-year-old Suga has become a favorite among the ruling party’s heavyweights. Suga has been listed by the party’s general secretary as the best caretaker who can ensure the continuation of Abe’s policies.
The son of a farmer in northern Akita prefecture, Suga is a self-made politician, rare in the largely hereditary world of politics in Japan.
As chief cabinet secretary, Suga is Abe’s policy coordinator and advisor. She is also the public face of the Abe government, holding televised briefings twice a day.
He is known as “Uncle Reiwa” after he was tasked with revealing the name of the new imperial era for Emperor Naruhito last year.
Suga has been a loyal supporter of Abe since his first term as prime minister between 2006 and 2007 and aided his return to power in 2012. Suga had previously denied running, but on Monday simply told reporters he would not comment.
Fumio Kishida: Abe’s foreign minister from 2012 to 2017, 63-year-old Kishida had once been considered the party’s preferred choice to become the next prime minister.
However, his status has slipped after he was deemed clumsy in the party’s response to the coronavirus in his role as head of policy.
In formally announcing his candidacy on Tuesday, Kishida said he would be a leader who listens to the voices of the people, something Abe has been criticized for not doing enough.
A low-key Hiroshima lawmaker with a somewhat dovish stance on security issues has been less supportive of Abe’s push to rewrite Japan’s war-renouncing Constitution.
Kishida reached an agreement in 2015 with South Korea on “comfort women”, victims of Japan’s sexual abuse during the war. In 2017, Kishida helped organize then-President Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, a first for a serving American leader.
Shigeru Ishiba: A former defense minister seen as Abe’s archrival within the party, the 63-year-old Ishiba is the public favorite for the next prime minister in media polls.
However, Ishiba’s vocal criticism of Abe has hurt his popularity with lawmakers in the ruling party. Ishiba has criticized the Abe government as autocratic and has expressed concern about growing poverty.
Ishiba, a soft-spoken banker turned politician, is known as a defense hawk and says Japan should have a stronger military capability within current constitutional limitations.
In addition to being Minister of Defense, Ishiba has also held senior ministerial positions in agriculture and local revitalization. He lost to Abe twice in the party’s elections in 2012 and 2018.
Executives from Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party met on Tuesday and decided that the Sept. 14 vote for the party’s leader, and with it almost certainly the prime minister, will be limited to lawmakers and not broader members of the government. match.
Some younger legislators had called for the latter to be included to make the process more open and democratic.
Whoever is elected will serve for the remainder of Abe’s term, until September 2021.
The next prime minister will face a number of challenges, including the ongoing fight against Covid-19, managing the Tokyo Olympics that have been postponed to next summer, establishing Japan’s security policy vis-à-vis a China. increasingly assertive and managing the results. They are from the presidential elections in the United States, Japan’s key ally.
These are the three candidates, who have announced their intention to run or are expected to do so:
Yoshihide Suga – Japan’s top government spokesman and Abe’s longtime right-hand man, 71-year-old Suga has become a favorite among the ruling party’s heavyweights. Suga has been listed by the party’s general secretary as the best caretaker who can ensure the continuation of Abe’s policies.
The son of a farmer in northern Akita prefecture, Suga is a self-made politician, rare in the largely hereditary world of politics in Japan.
As chief cabinet secretary, Suga is Abe’s policy coordinator and advisor. She is also the public face of the Abe government, holding televised briefings twice a day.
He is known as “Uncle Reiwa” after he was tasked with revealing the name of the new imperial era for Emperor Naruhito last year.
Suga has been a loyal supporter of Abe since his first term as prime minister between 2006 and 2007 and aided his return to power in 2012. Suga had previously denied running, but on Monday simply told reporters he would not comment.
Fumio Kishida: Abe’s foreign minister from 2012 to 2017, 63-year-old Kishida had once been considered the party’s preferred choice to become the next prime minister.
However, his status has slipped after he was deemed clumsy in the party’s response to the coronavirus in his role as head of policy.
In formally announcing his candidacy on Tuesday, Kishida said he would be a leader who listens to the voices of the people, something Abe has been criticized for not doing enough.
A low-key Hiroshima lawmaker with a somewhat dovish stance on security issues has been less supportive of Abe’s push to rewrite Japan’s war-renouncing Constitution.
Kishida reached an agreement in 2015 with South Korea on “comfort women”, victims of Japan’s sexual abuse during the war. In 2017, Kishida helped organize then-President Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, a first for a serving American leader.
Shigeru Ishiba: A former defense minister seen as Abe’s archrival within the party, the 63-year-old Ishiba is the public favorite for the next prime minister in media polls.
However, Ishiba’s vocal criticism of Abe has hurt his popularity with lawmakers in the ruling party. Ishiba has criticized the Abe government as autocratic and has expressed concern about growing poverty.
Ishiba, a soft-spoken banker turned politician, is known as a defense hawk and says Japan should have a stronger military capability within current constitutional limitations.
In addition to being Minister of Defense, Ishiba has also held senior ministerial positions in agriculture and local revitalization. He lost to Abe twice in the party’s elections in 2012 and 2018.
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