The race to choose Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s successor as the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has begun. The focus now is on whether trust in politics, lost in the wake of revelations of secret slush funds run by LDP factions, can be restored.
A record-breaking nine candidates are vying for the party’s — and the country’s — top job, an abundance that can be attributed to five LDP factions deciding to dissolve, with the exception of the Aso faction, weakening internal party pressures. The candidates will tour Japan and slug it out in multiple debates before the vote on Sept. 27.
First and foremost, they must address the money and politics problem spotlighted by the slush fund scandal.
After the problem emerged, the Political Funds Control Act was amended, and the previously opaque use of political activity funds — monies disbursed by parties to individual lawmakers — will now be made public after 10 years. Each candidate is emphasizing their stance on reform, including proposals to accelerate the timeline for disclosure or abolish the political activity fund system altogether. However, the investigation into the actual slush fund issue has been left to the side.
Attention should be paid to how more than 80 members of both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors involved in the slush fund scheme will be dealt with. In April, only five lawmakers were advised to leave the LDP or had their party membership suspended, and those who accepted less than 5 million yen (approx. $35,500) were merely given verbal warnings. With no clear accountability, the question remains whether these individuals will be officially endorsed by the party in the next lower house election.
Former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba stated, “This issue should be thoroughly debated,” while former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi remarked, “We will make a strict judgment.” However, neither candidate has committed to specific actions. And several lawmakers implicated in the slush fund scheme are listed as sponsors for five of the leadership runners including Minister of State for Economic Security Sanae Takaichi.
In the broader policy debate, it’s noticeable that there are candidates who supported the outgoing Kishida administration that are now making claims contradicting their past stances regarding unpopular policies.
The government plans to abolish Japan’s current health insurance cards in December, integrating them with the My Number government ID card to create a unified “My Number health insurance card.” However, leadership hopeful Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi and others are calling for a delay.
And fellow candidate Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi has declared that there will be no new financial burden on citizens for increases in defense spending or funding for child-rearing support.
Why didn’t they speak out about these issues earlier? It is hard not to see this sudden shift in policy as a naked popularity play.
The introduction of a system allowing married couples to have different surnames is also likely to be a point of contention. While LDP conservatives remain strongly opposed, as public support for such a system grows, we hope that leadership candidate debate on the issue will reflect the interests of the people.
Without trust in politics, policy implementation is uncertain. If the LDP is to be renewed, it cannot evade the money and politics issue.
Editorial: Japan ruling party leadership contest candidates must face up to money scandals
