TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s troubled Prime Minister Fumio Kishida He surprised the nation on Wednesday by announcing he would step down once the party elects a new leader next month.
The decision clears the way for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to choose a new leader in next month’s presidential election, whose winner will succeed Kishida as party president and prime minister.
Some believe a new leader could put to rest the scandals that have dogged the Kishida administration and provide a chance to elect Japan’s first female prime minister.
Let’s take a look at how a new leader will be chosen and what it means.
What happens next?
Kishida announced his intention not to run just days before the LDP is expected to set a date for its presidential election, which must be held every three years in September.
Kishida will remain as party president and prime minister until a successor is selected.
Because the LDP controls both houses of the Diet, the next party leader is sure to become prime minister.
Some political commentators have pointed out that if a new president is appointed to the LDP, the next general election could be held soon, because the party can hold a general election any time before the current term of the House of Representatives ends in October 2025.
Why is Kishida resigning?
A series of Defeat in local elections Earlier this year, there were calls within the party for a new face to boost support ahead of the next general election.
Kishida said the series of scandals had “betrayed” the public’s trust and that the party needed to show its commitment to change.
“The most obvious first step for me is to step back,” he said.
most A damaging scandal The scandal centred around the failure of dozens of the party’s most influential members to report political donations. the LDP’s decades-long ties with the South Korea-based Unification Church;
How will the party choose its next leader?
The LDP chooses its leader in a vote limited to its 1.1 million dues-paying members, so most Japanese voters have no say.
They would vote in a system that divided power between the parties’ elected representatives and members, with each group receiving 50 percent of the vote.
The LDP presidential election has long been expected to be dominated by leaders of powerful factions within the party, but experts say that view is uncertain after all but one faction announced they were dissolving following an internal party corruption scandal led by Kishida.
Who are the candidates?
It is not yet clear who is leading the race to succeed Kishida, but several senior LDP figures are attracting attention.
Three of the names are womanThe possibility of a breakthrough in Japan’s male-dominated politics has increased.
Experts say the need to change the LDP’s image may lead to the selection of a female prime minister – only three women have run for the party’s presidency in the past, two of whom ran against Kishida in 2021.
Just 10.3 percent of Japan’s lower house members are women, and a report released in April by the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union ranked Japan 163rd out of 190 countries surveyed in terms of the proportion of female lawmakers.
What about the general election?
The LDP’s troubles could spill over into the general election, but a divided opposition party may find it hard to take advantage of the situation.
Experts say while voters may want to punish the LDP for its scandals, they don’t see the opposition parties as a realistic option.
The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) won some victories in local elections this year, helped by scandals within the LDP, but has struggled to come up with policies that contrast with those of the coalition government.
