PNN – In the space of 10 days before the election of the new leader of the ruling party in Japan and the withdrawal of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida from participating in the elections, this competition is being followed between three figures, according to some polls, among them the former defense minister has a better chance.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the Guardian newspaper published a report on their close competition to lead the Japanese cabinet, considering that on September 27, Fumio Kishida will have to hand over the position of prime minister to his rivals in the party.
According to this English newspaper, among the frontrunners in this competition are Shigeru Ishiba, a security policy enthusiast who wants to start his “final battle”, as well as Shinjiro Koizumi, the young son of the former prime minister, who once emphasized the fight against climate change.
The race is complicated after a new poll found supporters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to name ultra-conservative Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi as their preferred choice.
Current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has opened the race for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party with his surprise decision to step down. This party is a conservative political power that has been in power in Japan for almost seven decades.
Under Japan’s parliamentary system, the new leader of the Liberal Democrats automatically takes over as prime minister once he is confirmed by the party.
On Monday, a poll by the Kyodo news agency showed Takaichi, 63, as the top choice for Japan’s prime minister with 27.7 percent of Liberal Democrat supporters, although there are doubts about his ability to muster votes among his fellow lawmakers.
This poll, in which former Japanese Defense Minister Ishiba received 23.7% support and Koizumi 19.1%, shows that the voting will be extended to the second round.
The young Koizumi has worked hard to boost his popularity with voters as he seeks to become the leader of the world’s fourth-largest economy. But recent polls suggest those efforts could be defeated by the experienced 67-year-old Ishiba.
An earlier poll by the Nikkei newspaper and Tokyo Television showed Ishiba’s support at 26 percent, followed by 43-year-old Koizumi with 20 percent and Takaichi with 16 percent.
Each of the 367 Liberal Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers will vote in the first round. If a candidate wins the majority of votes in the first round, which seems unlikely, he will become the next leader of the party. Otherwise, the two candidates who got the most votes will compete against each other in the next round.
Ishiba, director-general of Japan’s defense agency when Koizumi’s father was prime minister in the early 2000s, could lead the LDP out of stormy waters despite having failed in four previous party leadership contests. However, some analysts believe that Koizumi’s victory alone will prove to voters that the party is serious about addressing the serious problem caused by the damaging effects of the financial scandal.
James Brady, vice president of political risk consulting firm Teneo, said Koizumi, a political science graduate from Columbia University, could offer the promise of a generational change and modernization of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Brady added that while Ishiba could overtake his rival among the core members, Koizumi is likely to receive more support from his parliamentary colleagues, giving him a real chance to come out on top in the first round.