Japan’s LDP Going into Election Mode

July 22, 2018

Tokyo- The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is going into election mode after the current ordinary session of the Diet, Japan's parliament, has effectively ended.

The LDP will hold a presidential election in September, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reaches the end of his term as LDP head. The focus is whether Abe, 63, will win a third term after staying in power for nearly six years.

At a meeting of LDP House of Representatives lawmakers Friday, the final business day during the parliamentary session through Sunday, Abe noted that unified local elections and a House of Councillors poll will take place next year.

"I want to continue working for Japan with all of you," Abe told the meeting, emphasizing his strong desire for a third term.

Later that day, Abe told a news conference that a proposed constitutional amendment to add a provision on the Self-Defense Forces would be a big issue in the party election, no matter who participates in the race.

He also indicated that he will make clear by around late August whether he will run.

At a meeting of his faction also on Friday, former Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba, 61, said the LDP should be a party for the people, not the LDP itself. Faction members have given him a free hand to decide whether he will join the race.

The LDP will hold a presidential election for the first time in six years, after Abe won his second term in 2015 without a contest. It is considering holding the poll on Sept. 20, informed sources said.

Other major possible candidates are Fumio Kishida, 60, chairman of the party's Policy Research Council, and internal affairs minister Seiko Noda, 57.

Campaign issues are likely to include evaluations of the prime minister's Abenomics economic policy mix and political leadership amid strong public distrust in politics after a series of favoritism allegations against the Abe administration.

The LDP has set the maximum tenure of office for a party leader at three consecutive three-year terms. The term of the next election's winner will continue until September 2021, beyond the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Jiji Press