(Observer Network News)
Recently, the election of a new president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is gradually heating up. Since there are many factions in the Liberal Democratic Party, which candidates the major factions support has become the "top priority" and the focus of public opinion. However, many factions have recently had different opinions on the difficult question of "which candidate to support", so the entire election has gradually shown a trend of "chaos".
The Aso faction, led by the LDP's second largest faction with 53 members of Parliament and current Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro, had previously supported the continued candidacy of current Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, but with Suga's abrupt announcement of his withdrawal earlier this month, followed by Kawano Taro's intention to run, the opinions of the faction that should have been unanimous were gradually "split" - some senior politicians in the faction turned to support another Kishida faction candidate, Kishida Fumio.
According to Japan's "Yomiuri Shimbun" reported on the 14th, in order to prevent the faction valve from being "completely torn apart" due to disagreement, the Aso faction made a decision, in order to avoid a huge rift caused by the support of different candidates, it has been decided not to support a candidate for the time being, but to allow the members of the faction to support Kono and Kishida at the same time.
Screenshot of a Yomiuri news story
Although it is common sense that asahi school members of parliament should support candidates of the same faction together, it is reported that among the senior politicians of the Aso school, the pro-Kishida faction candidate, Kishida Fumio, has a high voice, while they keep a certain distance from the same faction, the current minister in charge of Japan's administrative reform, Taro Kono. In contrast, young politicians in the faction have high expectations for Kono, who is popular among the people, and want to promote him as the "face of the election."
In order to avoid the "worst-case scenario" of factional disintegration, Aso's leader, Taro Aso, has been trying to find a plan that is acceptable to all parties in the faction.
On the 13th, on TBS TV, when asked about Aso's attitude toward Kono's candidacy, Aso's candidate, Taro Kono, said, "I am optimistic, as long as others say 'come on' to me, I believe they will vote for me." According to the analysis of the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kono called himself "optimistic" because the faction's current internal situation is very complicated.
Infographic Aso candidate Taro Kono Figure from Yomiuri Shimbun
Image Courtesy of Kishida's candidate, Fumio Kishida, from his personal website
In fact, the Aso faction initially supported the re-election of current Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as president of the Liberal Democratic Party. Aso Taro has previously said, "As a cabinet member, (we send) no one should stand up for the election except to support Suga Yoshihide." Kono also understands this.
However, with Suga's sudden announcement on September 3 that he would not continue to run for president, the situation changed in an instant. On the same day (3rd), Kono expressed his willingness to run for election, and Aso Taro, as his "faction leader", showed a cautious attitude while tolerating Kono's behavior.
However, the "backbone" of the Aso faction and senior politicians have always been wary of Kono, who holds out slogans such as "get rid of nuclear power." In addition, when the young parliamentarians in the faction and the other stalwarts were ready to turn to support Kono, Aso, as the leader of the faction, also blamed a faction official who participated in kono's campaign preparations, saying, "You have to think from the perspective of the faction as a whole." ”
In view of the differences of opinion within the faction, the report said that Aso also advised Kono to dredge up the internal relations of the faction and lay the foundation for his candidacy. Kono took his advice and invited senior members of the Party, who were cautious about running for election, to "advise" him.
Later, after judging that the overall atmosphere within the faction had been brewed, Aso Taro told Kono on September 9, "If you work hard, you will win." Aso then told reporters, "I inspired Kono. In the case of "the Leaders of the Aso Faction have begun to support Kono", politicians outside the Aso faction have also begun to consider supporting Kono.
One thing is worth noting, though. Aso once said to those around him, "If Kono leaves the Aso faction [for election], he will lose the support of his colleagues." ”
According to the report, Aso's "encouragement" to Kono is also to firmly grasp Kono in his hands.
Despite the difficulties, the Aso faction established a direction of "basically supporting" Kono and Kishida. And then, the faction will continue to face the question of "how to take a 'soft landing' approach to disagreements within the faction."
At the end of the report, it is added that because the Aso faction originally originated from the "Hiroikekai" (now the Kishida faction), many Aso politicians had a closer relationship with Kishida Fumio, which is why the current situation occurred: many current Aso parliamentarians kept their distance from Kono within their own faction and turned to support Kishida Fumio.
Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election is in full swing, with three people announcing their official candidacy: Fumio Kishida, Sanae Takaichi, who is regarded as a right-winger, and Taro Kono, the current minister in charge of administrative reform. In addition, Shigeru Ishiba, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, and others are also regarded as candidates.
According to the news of Japanese television on the 13th, the results of the Japanese national telephone public opinion survey on the election support rate show that Kono Taro's support rate is 25%, temporarily ranking first. Former Liberal Democratic Party secretary-general Shigeru Ishiba has a 21 percent approval rating and former political research chief Fumio Kishida has a 19 percent support rating. The Japanese media generally believe that there are many variables in the current election situation, and the situation is still unclear.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.