The two leadership contests heat up | This week in Japanese politics

Another candidate enters the LDP race while a former prime minister enters the CDP race, a Chinese plane enters Japan's airspace, and high-profile delegation visits China

Thank you for reading Observing Japan. “This Week in Japanese Politics” is published on Friday or Saturday for paid subscribers.

If you are looking for timely, forward-looking analysis of the stories in Japans’s politics and policymaking that move markets, I have launched a new service through my business, Japan Foresight LLC. For more information about Japan Foresight’s services or for information on how to sign up for a trial or schedule a briefing, please visit our website or reach out to me.

This week I published these posts here at Observing Japan:

• "Back to the future,” 30 August

• "Can Kōno thread the needle?,” 29 August

• "Ishin on the brink?,” 28 August

• "Up for grabs," 26 August

Japan Foresight clients received the following notes:

• “The Constitutional Democrats face their own leadership dilemma,” 30 August

• “Conservatives and reformists seek an edge as mainstream candidates languish,” 27 August

Finally, if you are in Japan, I have a feature on the LDP’s leadership election on pp. 18-21 in the 9.10.24 issue of Newsweek Japan.

---

The rundown

Kōno Tarō became the third candidate to enter the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) leadership race formally; four more have scheduled their announcements in the coming ten days. Asō Tarō said he supports Kōno, but will not bind his faction to him. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Democratic Party’s leadership race has heated up, with former prime minister Noda Yoshihiko joining the field even as incumbent Izumi Kenta continues to scramble for endorsements. Kōmeitō has scheduled its own leadership election as leader Yamaguchi Natsuo considers whether to stay; Ishin no Kai is grappling with weakness in Kansai; and a scandal-dogged Diet member quits. Meanwhile, ministries submitted total budget requests to the Ministry of Finance surpassing JPY 117tn (US ) and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio reviewed his asset management policies with financial industry representatives. Meanwhile, on the eve of a high-profile political delegation to China, a Chinese military plane violated Japan’s territorial airspace for the first time, the same week that Kishida hosted two different US delegations of US lawmakers in Japan to discuss regional security cooperation.

LDP leadership election

Kōno Tarō announces his candidacy for the LDP’s leadership. Screenshot by author.

Kōno Tarō formally announced his candidacy on Monday, 26 August, making him the third candidate to enter the race. In a press conference, he said he wanted “to use [his] experience to overcome the various emergencies the country faces and move the country forward as Japan’s leader.” He used the press conference to call for further political reform, including proposing that lawmakers who failed to report funds return the money; called for deregulation while endorsing fiscal discipline; stressed the importance of renewables and, in a shift, nuclear energy in meeting Japan’s energy needs while reducing emissions; and endorsed separate surnames for spouses.

At a meeting of the Asō faction in Yokohama on Tuesday, 27 August, Asō Tarō announced that he would support Kōno, a member of the faction, but would not instruct faction members to vote for him, recognizing that sentiment within in the faction is divided. Kōno met with Asō and other senior faction members on 30 August. On Saturday, 31 August, he said that if elected, he would leave the faction, like many of his predecessors.

The field will expand significantly in the coming ten days, as Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa is expected to announce his candidacy on 3 September, LDP Secretary-General Motegi Toshimitsu on 4 September, Koizumi Shinjirō on 6 September, and Economic Security Minister Takaichi Sanae on 9 September. Candidates have delayed their announcements and other events as Japan has dealt with the effects of Typhoon Shanshan.