Republican leadership vote pushed forward to December 2020 [16/09/2020]

INADA- The Republican Party’s Central Committee, chaired by the Secretary-general, has brought forward the party’s leadership vote to 1 December 2020.

Initially scheduled to be held some time in April 2021, the period in which Prime Minister Yoichi Arikawa has declared his intention to resign, party elders and members of the cabinet agreed unanimously, behind closed doors, that the internal elections for the next Prime Minister ought to be brought forward to early December, so as to facilitate a smoother transition of power.

“This will allow the party’s choice of successor more time to plan their cabinet appointments, as well for the outgoing Prime Minister to make arrangements for his own departure and for a smoother handing and taking over”, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kiyomi Tomura said in a press conference held at 5pm outside the National Diet Hall. “We are confident that the measures we have taken will be effective in ensuring that the handover is a smooth process.”

The Prime Minister himself could not be reached for comment, but his spokesman told the media that he agrees with his party’s decision.

At present, with Deputy PM Reiko Hattori’s decision not to stand for the election, Senior Defence Minister Takayuki Soejima is seen as the most likely and most obvious successor to the post, due to his strong electoral base and his solid support within his own faction of the Republican Party. Senior Interior Minister Yukio Kamii and former Shadow Foreign Minister Hideyoshi Kaburagi are close runners-up.

If elected, the hawkish Soejima, who has long been a controversial figure even within his own party despite his strong factional support, will at 73 be the oldest Prime Minister.