'Japan Abe Rival' Ishiba, Will Receive Support from LDP 'Number Two' Nikai?

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Attention is growing as former LDP Secretary-General Ishiba Shigeru, a leading candidate for Japan's next prime minister, and LDP's second-in-command Nikai Toshihiro are increasingly likely to join forces.

On the 9th, Asahi Shimbun reported that former Secretary-General Ishiba asked Secretary-General Nikai the day before to appear as a speaker at his faction's political fundraising event scheduled for September, and Nikai accepted. After meeting with Nikai, Ishiba explained to reporters, "It would be good to hear various stories about what the LDP should be like, the role a policy group should play, and Japan after the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)."

This is the first time since Ishiba formed his faction in 2015 that he has invited an outsider as a lecturer, and that outsider is Secretary-General Nikai. Nikai said, "There is no doubt that Mr. Ishiba is one of the most experienced politicians in our party," adding, "He is one of the promising candidates who we hope will aim for even higher positions in the future."

The reason their movements are attracting attention is that, amid the continuous decline in approval ratings for current Prime Minister Abe Shinz?, the competition for the next prime minister is expected to intensify. Since Nikai leads a faction of 47 Diet members, if the two join forces, Ishiba's position will become advantageous.

In particular, since Ishiba's weak support base within the party is considered a disadvantage, it is expected that Nikai can compensate for this. Nikai currently controls the party's financial management and election nomination rights and is highly regarded for his keen sense of public opinion trends.

An executive of Nikai's faction told Sankei Shimbun, "Just because he agreed to give a lecture doesn't mean he is supporting him in the presidential election," but added, "The secretary-general tends to side with the person who can win. If Ishiba can win, there is a good chance the support will shift that way."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.