Ex-defence minister Ishiba is people's choice for next Japan PM: Polls
01 September, 2020
Former Japanese Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba may be the most popular choice among the general public to be the next prime minister, media thoughts and opinions polls showed on Sunday (Aug 30), as the race begins to succeed Shinzo Abe after his abrupt resignation the other day.
Ishiba has about 34 per cent of the public's support, a lot more than double the 14 % for Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the second-most popular choice, a weekend Kyodo News survey showed.
A Nikkei/TV Tokyo poll showed Ishiba with 28 per cent support, followed by current Defence Minister Taro Kono with 15 %. Suga came in fourth place with 11 per cent, the poll showed.
The surveys highlight a split between public judgment and internal Liberal Democratic Party politics.
Suga - a longtime lieutenant of Abe's in a key supporting role - is likely to get the backing of the faction led by LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai and of other major factions, local media reported, putting him in a favourable position.
That would make it an uphill battle for Ishiba, a vocal Abe critic who unsuccessfully challenged the out-going premier within the last LDP leadership race in 2018 and is known as less popular within the party.
Another potential candidate, LDP policy chief Fumio Kishida, came in last place in both of the public opinion surveys.
Abe's resignation announcement on Friday, citing the worsening of a chronic illness, set the stage for the party leadership election, which public broadcaster NHK said was more likely to take place around Sep 13 to 15.
The LDP president is nearly assured of being prime minister because of the party's majority in the low house of parliament.
Brad Glosserman, deputy director of the guts for Rule-Making Strategies at Tama University, said Suga was the safe gamble with regards to internal LDP dynamics, but may not be ideal come election time. An over-all election should be held by late October 2021.
"He doesn't appear to have either the charisma or the vision to push Japan in a new direction. He appears to be the eternal NUMBER 2 - he offers on promises made by his boss," said Glosserman.
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