Final list of candidates running to head the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to be released
The final list of candidates running for the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan will be released today.
The candidate list will be announced two weeks after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s announcement of his resignation. Vaccination Minister Taro Kono, former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi have announced their nominations for the party’s candidacy.
Kono is expected to be Suga’s successor, since he is currently backed by Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso’s faction, the second-largest within the party, and by former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba. He has also received strong public support.
With the LDP’s control of 276/465 seats at the lower House of the Diet, whoever is picked as the LDP head will be voted as the next Prime Minister by the lower House. Because public trust in Suga’s government has plummeted to 25%, the next PM will likely regain trust by accelerating vaccine rollout and facilitating economic growth. The LDP’s choice of running budget deficits, currently marking 252% of GDP, to support social welfare and businesses, Japanese households and insurance companies is difficult. . Long-term, the next PM may introduce austerity measures to tackle the deficit.
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