Japan: the LDP leadership contest - or political chaos as usual

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Japan: the LDP leadership contest - or political chaos as usual

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The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan is currently meeting to decide on their next leader following the sudden resignation of PM Fukuda Yasuo*. Among the apparent front-runners is Aso Taro according to BBC News. Aso is the current LDP secretary general and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs in two governments.

Campaigning for the leadership spot is expected to begin on 10 September, but there is already a sense of pessimism over the latest turn of affairs in a long-running series of political disappointments.

The Fukuda government has been plagued by historically low approval ratings, dipping below 30% in the period immediately preceding his announcement of resignation, citing a desire to shake Parliament out of legislative deadlock.

Youtube Link: The Fukuda resignation press conference, in Japanese with English simultaneous translation originally broadcast on NHK BS 1.

Reaction from the media has been harsh, and that of the Opposition and prominent members of the business community has been equally scornful. The International Herald Tribune cites the Kyodo News Agency in reporting that opposition Democratic Party MP Watanabe Kozo denounced Fukuda's resignation as "an utterly irresponsible way to quit." He further said, "I cannot help worrying about what will happen to this country's politics."

In a sign that this is just another hiccup in Japan's long political drift, shares on Japanese and other Asian markets seem to be unresponsive to the Fukuda resignation.

This is the second time a Prime Minister has resigned in under a year.

While Aso may have the highest profile internationally of any of the LDP's leadership candidates he is not the only one. Noda Seiko, popular State Minister for Consumer Affairs and Ishihara Nobuteru, son of outspoken Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro have both been cited as potential candidates. For a party with a tenuous hold on the Japanese electorate and its Parliamentary majority, fresh faces such as one of these might help the party regain or retain support.

*Names are given surname first, as they are spoken in the native language.