Barely exceeding 20% of ‘government resignation level’
The 2nd and 3rd largest factions of the Liberal Democratic Party declare their continued existence.
Despite the chaos within the party, there is no sign of resignation.
A major faction within Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, embroiled in suspicions of creating slush funds, declared that it would disband, but the approval ratings of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the party still remain at the lowest level, it has been revealed. However, the prevailing analysis is that Prime Minister Kishida is not in a position to step down anytime soon.
According to the results of a public opinion poll released by the Asahi Shimbun on the 22nd, Prime Minister Kishida’s approval rating was 23%, the same level as a month ago. On the same day, a Yomiuri Shimbun opinion poll recorded 24%, down 1 percentage point from December last year, the lowest level since Prime Minister Kishida took office. In Japan, if the prime minister’s approval rating is around 20%, it is considered to be at the level of resignation from the government.
Prime Minister Kishida took a gamble by suddenly disbanding the Kishida faction (Kochikai) that he led, but the public response was cold. In an Asahi survey, when asked, “Do you think the disbanding of the Liberal Democratic Party faction will lead to restoration of political trust?” 72% answered “It will not lead.” Yomiuri analyzed that “Prime Minister Kishida’s sudden announcement of dissolution was accepted by the public as a plan to prolong the regime and did not lead to a recovery in the cabinet’s approval rating.”
The Kishida faction, the fourth-largest minority faction in the party, disbanded, and the Abe faction, the largest faction in the party at the center of slush fund suspicions, also decided to disband, but the confusion within the party has not been resolved.
The Aso faction, the second largest faction, and the Motegi faction, the third largest faction, which have supported Prime Minister Kishida ever since the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, announced their intention to continue as factions. There is no reason to disband the faction even though it is not involved in the slush fund issue. Rather, they seem to be protesting against Prime Minister Kishida for not even consulting them while making important decisions.
Prime Minister Kishida declined to comment on whether other factions would be disbanded, saying, “I am not in a position to comment.” However, there are even hard-line comments within the Aso and Motegi factions saying, “If we push back like this, we can bring down Prime Minister Kishida.”
Although confusion is increasing within the Liberal Democratic Party, there is no sign of Prime Minister Kishida stepping down. This is because the next candidate within the party who can threaten Prime Minister Kishida has not emerged. Another big reason is that the opposition party has not shown its ability to change the government.
In the Tokyo Hachioji mayoral election on the 21st, which was the first actual election after the slush fund suspicions arose, the candidate recommended by the Liberal Democratic Party was elected after a close race, showing the power of the ruling party. This is the constituency of Koichi Hagiuda, former chairman of the Political Affairs Research Committee and a high-ranking member of the Abe faction. For this reason, there were many analyzes that this election would be a weathervane for voting on the slush fund issue.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.