As the Democratic Party in the United States struggles to enter a crucial election with a deeply flawed candidate, panic is spreading within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan over the unpopularity of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
In a year in which overconfident incumbent politicians around the world are getting their just deserts, the time for a decision is also approaching in Tokyo.
Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga kicked off the race to replace Kishida last month when he lambasted the party leader in a scathing interview. “Recently, I’ve heard cries of fear within the LDP that if things continue like this, there will be a change of government,” Suga told Bungei Shunju magazine. He directly criticized the incumbent prime minister’s failure to take responsibility for a recent financing scandal and called on the LDP to renew itself to restore public trust.
