“Ishiba supports Kono Kono, the next Japanese prime minister, and plans to give up the candidacy”

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 14th that Shigeru Ishiba, former secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, has decided not to run for president of the Liberal Democratic Party, which will decide the next prime minister.

According to reports, former secretary-general Ishiba is in the process of supporting Minister of Administrative Reform Taro Kono, and plans to express this at the general meeting of the Ishiba group on the 15th, an aide said. Former secretary-general Ishiba said, “I have been running for president in the past and appealed for party reform, but nothing has changed. It’s just self-satisfaction, and I’m not going to choose that way this time.”

According to the newspaper, he finally confirmed his intention not to run when Minister Kono personally visited and asked for help the day before, the newspaper reported. Minister Kono ranked first in the opinion poll, but if he does not get a majority in the first round and goes to the runoff, the proportion of regional votes will drop sharply, and there is a possibility that he will be overthrown by former secretary-general Fumio Kishida.

Japan’s Minister of Administrative Reform, Taro Kono, officially announces his candidacy for president of the LDP at a press conference at the National Assembly in Tokyo on the 10th. Tokyo = AFP Yonhap News

Former secretary-general Ishiba had previously contested for the governorship four times, but lost each time. In 2012, even after receiving 55% of the votes cast by party members, it went to the runoff due to insufficient votes for the National Assembly, and was defeated by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He tried again last year, but it ended in a landslide victory by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

Meanwhile, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the LDP’s largest faction, the Hosoda faction (96 members) and the second-largest Aso faction (53 members), decided to vote autonomously by their members of the National Assembly without unifying candidates on the 13th. However, in the case of the Hosoda faction, the faction will unite and vote for one person if it goes to the final vote. Asofa, to which Minister Kono belongs, basically supports Minister Kono and former Chairman Jeongjo Kishida, but has decided to leave it up to the legislators to decide which candidate to vote for.

Tokyo = Jinju Choi correspondent pariscom@hankookilbo.com