Japan's 'Punkulsek Left' Koizumi Launches Lawmakers' Group... Aiming for Next Prime Minister

Launch of Bipartisan Lawmakers' Group... 'Kishida Criticism' Behind Suga Yoshihide
Active Ministers Also Form Group... Shaking Kishida's Leadership

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is facing risks once again amid record low approval ratings and controversies over violations of the Political Funds Control Act, while the movements of Shinjiro Koizumi, the second son of former Prime Minister Koizumi and former Minister of the Environment, are drawing attention. Koizumi, who has been critical of Prime Minister Kishida, established a cross-party group with former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is also critical of Kishida, leading to analyses that this is effectively an expansion of forces aiming to become the 'post-Kishida' leadership.

On the 24th, the Asahi Shimbun reported that on the 22nd, former Minister of the Environment Koizumi launched a cross-party parliamentary group called the "Ride Share Study Group." The purpose is to discuss regulatory reforms for ride-sharing to address the shortage of taxi drivers and other issues.

Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaking at the Rideshare Research Association. (Photo by NHK)

The person supporting this group behind the scenes is former Prime Minister Suga, who has distanced himself from Prime Minister Kishida. Suga has recently been consistently advocating for the necessity of permitting ride-sharing. With the group being cross-party and including opposition lawmakers critical of the administration, Japanese media are analyzing this as a move conscious of next year’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election. Although Kishida is aiming for re-election, the strategy appears to be to expand their forces to take over the position and become the leader themselves.

In fact, on the first day of the group’s formation, lawmakers from the LDP, Komeito, as well as opposition parties such as the Constitutional Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai attended. A senior official from Nippon Ishin no Kai, which takes a tough stance against Prime Minister Kishida, hinted, "Former Minister of the Environment Koizumi proposed participation."

At the inauguration ceremony, former Minister Koizumi appealed, "I want to discuss so that lawmakers who want to solve the transportation refugee problem can respond to the anxieties of the taxi industry and the public." While he insists that this is purely a parliamentary study group, various speculations are rampant in political circles. Above all, the timing of former Minister Koizumi starting discussions on ride-sharing coincides with former Prime Minister Suga’s actions, raising reasonable suspicion.

Former Minister Koizumi first raised the necessity of introducing ride-sharing on social media (SNS) in August, at which time former Prime Minister Suga was making the same argument in regional lectures. In October, Suga visited the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and held direct meetings with officials. Around the same time, Suga personally appealed to Prime Minister Kishida for the need to discuss the issue. This has led to speculation that Koizumi, backed by Suga, is aiming for Kishida’s position.

Subsequently, Prime Minister Kishida declared in a Diet speech, "We will proceed with the introduction of a Japanese-style ride-sharing system," which analysts interpret as a sign of caution toward Koizumi and Suga, who could become leaders of the anti-Kishida faction.

Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attending the ride-share meeting. (Photo by NHK)

The problem is that parliamentary leagues aimed at building these 'post-Kishida' forces are springing up rapidly. Sanae Takaichi, Minister in charge of Economic Security, recently also formed her own study group. However, this has been interpreted as a current minister effectively drawing a sword aimed at the prime minister, drawing criticism even within the LDP. With Prime Minister Kishida’s struggling approval ratings failing to find a breakthrough and the prosecution moving over violations of the Political Funds Control Act, this expansion of new forces is expected to continue.

Former Minister Koizumi appeared to be conscious of such internal criticism and was reserved after the meeting. When asked by reporters whether his support as the next prime minister was high in opinion polls, he did not answer and emphasized, "Today we discussed ride-sharing, so please ask only questions about ride-sharing."

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