Japan: Conservative Party must now find successor to Shinzo Abe

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when announcing his resignation on August 28, 2020. Kyodo News via AP

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The Japanese Prime Minister decided on Friday to resign for health reasons. Five potential successors are mentioned by the media, but none of them seems to win the day. One thing seems certain: the conservative party in power almost without interruption since the end of World War II will maintain the same political line as that followed for nearly eight years by Shinzo Abe.

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With our correspondent in Tokyo, Frédéric Charles

The Japanese conservative party is dominated by political dynasties. Shinzo Abe's grandfather and great-uncle served as Prime Ministers. These dynasties rule over Japan and they elect to the presidency of the party, and by extension to the head of government, Prime Ministers who are politically similar. They are all neoconservatives in favor of maintaining the alliance with the United States.

If there are differences between the potential candidates to  succeed Shinzo Abe , they are due to their personalities. Shigeru Ishiba, a former minister is considered a hawk. Taro Kono, the current Defense Minister, a graduate of the American University of Georgetown, is said to be a reformer.

The former Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007, Yoshihide Suga, would also be tipped, just like Taro Aso, the current Minister of Finance, and Fumio Kishida, the Minister of Foreign Affairs who many however criticize his reserved character and his lack of charisma .

By electing one of them as president, the Conservative Party imposes him as Prime Minister given the majority he has in Parliament.

As for Shinzo Abe, he wants to make sure that his successor will protect him against possible lawsuits over corruption scandals accumulated during his eight years as head of Japan.

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  • Japan
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