Ishiba and Kishida to Run in LDP Leadership Election as 'Post-Abe' Candidates

Major Japanese Media: "Suga Chief Cabinet Secretary Also to Announce Candidacy on the 2nd"

Former LDP Secretary-General Ishiba [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba and LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Fumio Kishida announced on the 1st that they will run in the new LDP presidential election.

This is the fourth time former Secretary-General Ishiba has run for the LDP presidency. He lost to Prime Minister Abe in the 2012 and 2018 LDP presidential elections.

Earlier, the LDP held a general affairs meeting at 11 a.m. on the same day and decided to elect the new president through a joint session of both houses (House of Councillors and House of Representatives) without a party member vote. According to the LDP party rules, the new president should be elected through a formal election in principle, where affiliated Diet members and 394 party members each cast votes. However, in urgent cases, a joint session of both houses can be held with only Diet members and 141 representatives from prefectural branch federations participating to conduct a simplified election. The LDP concluded that Prime Minister Abe’s sudden resignation qualifies as an "urgent case" as stipulated in the party rules, thus opting for a simplified election.

The simplified election is expected to be disadvantageous for former Secretary-General Ishiba, who has strong support from party members and local supporters but weak support among Diet members within the party.

Policy Research Council Chairman Kishida also officially declared his candidacy for the LDP presidency on the afternoon of the same day. Kishida, who was Japan’s Foreign Minister during the December 2015 Japan-South Korea comfort women agreement, is known for emphasizing diplomacy that strengthens ties with Asian countries centered on the U.S.-Japan alliance.

According to Kyodo News, during his press conference announcing his candidacy, he expressed deep regret over Japan-South Korea relations and stated that it is important for both countries to cool public sentiment and create an environment for dialogue.

Major Japanese media reported that Minister Suga is also expected to officially declare his candidacy for the LDP presidency on the evening of the 2nd. Minister Suga has the support of the LDP’s largest faction, the Hosoda faction (細田 faction) with 98 members (including both houses), as well as the Aso faction (麻生 faction) with 54 members, and the Nikai faction with 47 members. Additionally, the "Suga Group," which supports Minister Suga, is known to have more than 30 members.

The LDP plans to announce the presidential election on the 8th and hold the joint session of both houses for voting on the 14th.

In Japan, which adopts a parliamentary cabinet system, the ruling party (LDP) president becomes the prime minister elected by the House of Representatives.

The extraordinary Diet session to elect the new prime minister is scheduled to be held on the 16th.

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