Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will be selecting a new leader by September 27.

This comes after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s surprise announcement that he will be stepping down.

The 67-year-old veteran who took office in October 2021 says he was bowing out of the race to pave the way for a new leader to form a united LDP to make a fresh start to regain public trust, badly hurt by the party’s extensive corruption scandal, causing his support ratings to dip below 20%.

Within days of the prime minister’s declaration, local Japan media has speculated nearly a dozen possible candidates, with some already announcing their interest in leading a party desperate for public support.

They include young lawmaker and former Economic Security Minister Takayuki Kobayashi, former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi; three of the party’s female veterans, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi and former Gender Equality Minister Seiko Noda; as well as past runner-ups, Digital Minister Taro Kono, and former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba who is an all-time favourite among the general public.

On this episode of Morning Shot, Stephen Nagy (Neggy), Professor of Politics & International Studies at the International Christian University & Visiting Fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs analyses what the LDP needs in order to regain public confidence, as well as regional implications.

Presented by: Emaad Akhtar
Produced & Edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)
Photo credits: Government of Japan