Japan (Washington Insider Magazine) -A headline nationalist with strong stances on Japan’s national security has entered the race to be the next leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and in all likelihood, the country’s next Prime Minister.
Sanae Takaichi would be the first woman to lead Japan but enters the race to succeed Yoshihide Suga as something of an outsider. Although she is one of the few prominent female politicians in Japan, polls still put her solidly behind former foreign minister Fumio Kishida and vaccines minister Taro Kona.
Suga’s announcement to let someone else take his position at the helm of the LDP and Japan came as a relative surprise but is a logical decision following the hit his popularity took following the mishandling of the COVID-10 outbreak.
Takaichi has announced her intentions to follow in the economic footsteps of Suga’s predecessor Shinzo Abe by continuing a policy of aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus. This would be accompanied by a readjustment of the country’s primary goal of achieving a balance surplus by 2025 to instead focus on an inflation target of 2%.
She said in a news conference after the announcement that she “will rebuild the economy and put it on a path for growth”.
She will also attempt to introduce a legislative framework that allows mandatory lockdowns, which are currently prevented by the country’s constitution’s protection of freedom of movement. Lockdowns as of yet in Japan have been voluntary, although overwhelmingly adhered to.
Whilst the LDP will vote on who shall be its next leader on September 29th, the winner will shortly have another contest with the general election that must be held by November 30th.
Although the LDP has enjoyed an almost uninterrupted reign of power since the introduction of liberal democracy in the 1950s, with the exception of just four years, it will be a tough task convincing the Japanese public to retain faith in a party that has made hugely unpopular decisions regarding COVID-19 and the Olympics over the last several months.
