In Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party, which has dominated Japanese politics since 1955, has been searching for a new leader since Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decided to renounce a new term at the head of the party. The nine candidates for his succession, a record, including two women, took part in a televised debate. The winner of this internal election for the party presidency is assured of succeeding Fumio Kishida, who has become unpopular following political and financial scandals and the decline in the purchasing power of Japanese households. The Conservative Party is tempted by change. But this televised debate showed that it remains divided between its old guard and its reformists.
2 min
With our correspondent in Tokyo, Frederic Charles
The Conservative Party’s youngest and most popular candidate in Japan is Shinjiro Koizumi, 43, the son of Junichiro Koizumi, who came to power between 2001 and 2006, one of the most charismatic Japanese government leaders who proclaimed that he would ” to put down ” his own party and reform Japanese politics and the economy from the ground up.
Like father, like son, Shinjiro Koizumi, a former environment minister, also wants to change Japan, deregulate the economy, solve the problems that have been debated for years. He has indicated that he would call early elections if chosen in order to ” clarify the political situation ” and obtain a majority for his program.
A woman could be elected
The Conservative Party could also bring to power, for the first time, a woman, in this case Sanae Takaichi, 63, who represents the most conservative and nationalist wing of the party. The Japanese Parliament has only 11% women among the deputies. Shigeru Ishiba, 67, a former Minister of Defense, represents continuity. Since the war in Ukraine, he has wanted to reform the pacifist Constitution and create in East Asia an organization like NATO.
The Conservative Party, mired in repeated scandals, is at a low ebb. It has always ignored the expectations of the population. This internal election is being played out between elected officials and party members, without the people. The Japanese are showing their preference for Shinjiro Koizumi, who would embody the break with a political system that has lost the confidence of public opinion. Nearly half of the Japanese no longer go to the polls.
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