Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has announced that he will not run for the LDP leadership election upon expiration of his term. Candidates will be finalized on 17 September with voting on 29 September and party is now recruiting the 20 party council member nominees required for a leadership election.
In addition to former policy chief Fumio Kishida (64) and Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Taro Kono (58), who have announced their intention to run, former Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba (64) and former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Sanae Takaichi (60), supported by former Prime Minister Abe, have shown enthusiasm for running.
After the leadership election, the general election of members of the House of Representatives will be held on 21 October due to the expiration of the term of office. The House of Representatives election is expected to take place sometime in October or November, and by 28 November at the latest.
Kishida, who has already announced his candidacy, and Ishiba, who is eager to run, were both defeated in the 2020 leadership election by Prime Minister Suga.
Kono, who belongs to the Shikoukai (Aso) faction of the LDP, decided not to run last time because the faction unanimously decided to support Suga. Although it seems he has a strong desire to run this time, it is still unclear if he will receive the support of the entire Aso faction.
Regardless of who wins the leadership election, it is believed that it will not significantly affect the direction of the LDP’s IR development policy, and any potential changes will be limited.
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