Japan To Opt Prime Minister Today Amid Urgent Challenges Of Aging Population, Rising Military Threats

2024-09-27 12:00:14

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Japan's ruling party chooses a new leader for the nation Friday as its members decide whether to continue inching away from an over-reliance on central bank support, speed up a sluggish reform process or reverse course back toward oversized stimulus.

The leadership election will set the stage for a new premier who will need to steer the nation through a period of transformation as it emerges from three decades of stagnation and faces mounting diplomatic and security challenges.

Also Read: Japan's Next Leader Will Be Different, and Flawe

A record nine candidates are contesting the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election. Outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said last month he wouldn't seek a second term as his approval ratings sagged due to a party slush-fund scandal and persistent inflation. Whoever wins the LDP poll is all but certain to be approved as prime minister by parliament in a vote expected on Oct. 1.

The favorites include Sanae Takaichi, who argues that the economy still needs aggressive pump priming. If she wins, Takaichi would become Japan's first woman prime minister.

Japan could also get its youngest postwar prime minister in 43-year-old Shinjiro Koizumi. He has little high-level government experience and has campaigned on a platform of deregulation to foster the growth of start-ups and new business sectors, such as ride-sharing.

Another front-runner, Shigeru Ishiba, has called for an Asian NATO to deter China and North Korea. He wants to focus on revitalizing Japan's rural regions by providing incentives for young people raised in provincial areas to stay there rather than relocate to major cities.

Former Prime Minister Taro Aso intends to have his faction vote for Takaichi, the Sankei newspaper reported Friday. The yen continued to weaken against the dollar in morning trading in Tokyo. Japan's currency fell to around 145.52 per dollar, versus 144.80 at the start of the day.

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