The race is on to find Japan’s next leader.
On Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he will not stand for re-election in his party’s late-September elections. Suga’s party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is the dominant force in Japanese politics, and the winner of the LDP’s intra-party election on Sept. 29 is virtually guaranteed to become Japan’s next prime minister when Japan votes in its general election, which must be held before Nov. 28.
Suga’s withdrawal from the race has left a leadership vacuum that multiple candidates are now hoping to fill. Fumio Kishida, 64, a former foreign minister who was once seen as the likely successor to former president Shinzo Abe, officially declared his candidacy last week before Suga stepped down. Sanae Takaichi, 60, a staunch conservative and former minister of internal affairs, has signaled that she would like to become Japan’s first-ever female prime minister. One leading contender, former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba, 64, hinted on Monday that he may not have enough support to mount a campaign for the position.
But Taro Kono, 58, Japan’s administrative reform minister and the man Suga tapped earlier this year to spearhead the country’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, appears to have emerged as the top choice among the Japanese public. Kono has not officially declared his candidacy, but Japanese media report that he will likely declare a bid this week with Suga’s backing.
In a nationwide survey conducted...
Read Full Story: https://fortune.com/2021/09/07/taro-kono-japan-prime-minister-covid-vaccine-social-media/
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