Japan Could Elect Its First Female or Youngest Modern Leader
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Japan stands a good chance of having its first woman prime minister or its youngest leader in the modern era after a vote on October 4 to pick the head of the nation’s ruling party.
The front-runners in the potentially historic Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) election are conservative nationalist Sanae Takaichi, 64, and her more moderate rival Shinjiro Koizumi, 44. Opinion polls suggest Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, 64, may also be a contender.
They are among five candidates vying to replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is stepping down after a series of electoral defeats.
The next leader is likely to become premier as the LDP is the biggest group in Parliament, but that is not assured as the party – which has run Japan for almost all the postwar period – lost its majorities in both houses under Ishiba, Reuters reported.
Ms. Takaichi pledges to jolt the economy with aggressive government spending that could spook investors in an economy with one of the world’s biggest debt loads. She has raised the possibility of redoing an investment deal with US President Donald Trump that lowered his punishing tariffs.
Farm Minister Koizumi, son of former premier Junichiro Koizumi, as well as the other candidates, say they would trim taxes to help households cope with rising living costs but otherwise hew more closely to Mr. Ishiba's economic restraint.
Whoever wins the October 4 vote will inherit a party in crisis and a sluggish economy.
Dissatisfaction with the LDP is pushing many voters, especially disillusioned younger people, to opposition parties such as an upstart anti-immigrant far-right party.
If chosen, Mr. Koizumi would be a few months older than Mr. Hirobumi Ito when he became Japan's first prime minister in 1885, under the nation's pre-war constitution.
Mr. Koizumi leads among the 295 LDP lawmakers who will vote for party leader, followed by Mr. Hayashi and Ms. Takaichi, according to an Asahi newspaper report on October 1.
