Japan's LDP Leadership Race, So Far, Is A Sluggish Campaign

2025-09-25 07:01:27

(MENAFN- Asia Times) In the campaign to lead Japan's long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and most likely to become the country's new prime minister, the first phase – featuring the heaviest concentration of party-sponsored public events and debates – is over and it is possible to make some preliminary notes on what we have learned thus far.

First, as far as substance is concerned, the contest is Takaichi versus the rest. Sanae Takaichi appears to be the only candidate willing to assert bold positions that separate her from the pack.

On fiscal policy, she is open to using deficit bonds to finance stimulus spending. She is skeptical about a consumption tax cut in the near term as part of a supplemental budget but is open to discussing it over the medium term. She has questioned the announcement by the Bank of Japan last week about selling off ETF and REIT holdings.

She has also – in contrast with the others – called for a more aggressive timeline for coalition negotiations, suggesting that they should be completed before the new government is confirmed by the Diet.

She has also, as seen in her remarks at the opening forum, taken a more aggressive position on Japan's foreign population and over-tourism (for which she has attracted critical attention), The other four candidates have taken much more cautious stances across the board.

That said, even Takaichi may not be so great an outlier. All of the candidates want to show the public that the government is moving quickly to address their concerns; most have emphasized the need to build a strong team from across the party; everyone wants to try to bring a new coalition partner into the government; no one is in a hurry to call a snap election.

There is enthusiasm about moving quickly to pass a supplemental budget that includes some proposals from opposition parties but no one thinks that the consumption tax can or should be reduced in the immediate term.

They all agree that Japan faces a severe international environment and all support raising defense support, though no one wants to specify how much higher defense spending should go or how it should be financed.

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