Who is next after Abe? Potential successors

No one that is going to bring about MUCH needed reform in Japan. And no one that is willing to fight the deeply entrenched corruption at all levels of government and business. Don't hold your breath for better days...

TIJ!

Motegi if Japan needs man with boldness backed by powerful astrological from his “eto” traditional astrological sign of 12 animals

Anyone but Aso please.

Whoever next prime minister in LDP is going to take a leadership until next September. For only one year.

But I hope he/she shows strong leadership to deal with many issues, especially diplomacy.

The next person is most likely another old Japanese guy. Wake me up when a woman or the governor of Okinawa becomes Prime Minister.

Please please please not Aso again. His first tenure was risible. We are in serious times. Give us a serious leader.

Oh what am I thinking? Some other geriatric Nippon Kaigi ultranationalist millionaire will have to do.

Kishida, Ishiba, and Suga are probably the front runners, while Koizumi would be the "ladies" pick and would be popular with a lot of younger folks, but he really doesnt stand a chance, due to his age and inexperience, if he were elected as LDP president, he would be Abe's puppet!

Aso would be a mistake, he screwed himself the first time, and if he even runs again, I'd be surprised!

Whoever becomes a prime minister of Japan, there will not be a big change. Recent stagnation of Japan comes, a foreign scholar says, it is because of the monolithic society. Different ideas are not accepted where innovation does not happen. The scholar says Japan is stable country and people are conforming but vitality and dynamism are likely to be lost in homogeneous society.

Apart from Koizumi, they are all old men who should be retired/well retired by now .

Boring old men with boring old ideas ..and no women ! grrr.

Sorry, just noticed a woman ..About time, but still need younger and more female candidates.

Koizumi would be the "ladies" pick and would be popular with a lot of younger folks, but he really doesnt stand a chance, due to his age and inexperience

And, you might add, his lack of credibility. Saying "I want to make environmental issues sexy" or whatever the exact words were, doesn't strike you as a mature candidate with something to offer. Few of them have much to offer of course. Thumbs up to the "anyone but Aso" posts. What a turkey!!

I'd vote Kano if we can actually vote the individual. No Aso please, dude needs to go away.

Aso already had a shot a few years back. Koizumi is like 12 years old. I say Ishiba or Suga

Please NOT Aso, please. Anyone but Aso. I think Ishiba is the best choice but he lacks support among LDP kingmakers. Ishiba is the mist popular candidate among the public and among grassroots LDP chapters around the country but LDP lawmakers hate him.

"Anyone but Aso" should be a T-shirt.

"Anyone but Aso" should be a T-shirt.

I'd buy one. The day he lost the election he should have disappeared.

Sad to see Abe go but we need Aso! He's what this country needs! A man who tells it like it is.

@El Rata

I applaud your sense of humour.

Jokes aside, we need someone who'll listen to the public instead of what Abe's been doing...

Best bet Shinjiro KOIZUMI .

I want Aso for a reason. He would the rein again to the opposition and the LDP will be packed aside.

Despite the numerous scandals they still get voted overwhelmingly leading to arrogance.

Wish it would be a female.

@El rata

We need Aso - thank you I laughed so much. The only candidate in Japan worse than Abe

Kono seems to be the best of a very bad lot, so the LDP will probably pass on him...

I personally like Motegi. He can speak English and he went to university in the US. Oh, I also taught his son!

Please not the geezer with the gaffes, the crooked mouth and forked tongue!

In Japan,it is officially inheritance.Grandfather was a PM,son a minister,Grandson a PM..

That is the official trend.It is close to impossible for a commoner to reach the helm.Power is in the hands of a few families.

Aso mixes policy experience with a fondness for manga comics and a tendency towards gaffes.

And ‘regrettable’ references to Nazis.

I'm certain that several LDP lawmakers will run for the party presidency (means Prime Minister) and that the open race will be conducted. A strong mandate is made through sound competitions. Please don't make a deal or decision behind the door.

A bad scenario would be to let a pro-Beijing panda-hugger to lead the country...

My attention is not merely on PM but also on other cabinet members, especially whom to assume key portfolio (Foreign Affairs, Defense, Finance, etc... plus in charge of corona response)

Suga probably.

It has been worse before than what it was under abe, be careful who you wish for, there are some extreme nut jobs wanting a turn.

Abe was able to at least give us some fairly stable times even while the world was in turmoil, but think back although many wont be able to but think back to the times when foreigners where hunted down and killed in the streets here, think back, think how things could turn...................lets hope we get a stable leadership.

FuzzyToday  06:28 pm JST

Anyone but Aso please.

My comment about the same person - Ugho - was deleted the other day.

No one needs ‘Muggsy’ as PM again.

Aso was PM already. And he was terrible.

I find myself hoping for aso,

First day in office, expect the economy to become the only thing that matters.

Aso is too direct not to come out and say corona is no big deal in Japan.

OMG, the world biggest democratic nation in term of population density only has 9 candidates ?

Who disqualified candidacy of 127 million other Japanese ?

Majorities are disqualified forever for PM position, that is Japan, no joke.

These LDP oyajis are ridiculous

I do not care who becomes the temporary PM, whose term ends in only one year. I am more interested in the national LDP presidential election, which will decide a real PM.

I would love to see Ishiba becoming the next PM. He is a rare LDP politician, who is openly critical of Abe and LDP leadership. He is critical of Abenomics. He is from Tottori Prefecture, one of the fewest populations in Japan, and deeply concerned about local economies of Japan. He is most popular among grass roots LDP members.

Anyone but Aso, Suga, Kato, Motegi or Nishimura...

This is where it's good to reduce the angst and stress of choosing who to vote for by applying the IDM philosophy.

It Doesn't Matter.

They're all the same.

I do think Japanese elections are interesting, but loud. What a great idea to limit campaigns to 12-17 days. The constant bleating of politics in the US is mind numbing.

I think the method of choosing a candidate for so many makes more sense than other countries. People go to the polls and look at the board of candidate posters, then decide whose face they like. It's as good as any other method...

Koizumi for me, his old man didn't do a bad job, in fact rather good given the circumstances. Japan being Japan, the PM is always going to tow the line of the elders anyway, and young Koizumi has got elder allies in the family. Anyone but Kono for me, but agree, Aso, and the other geriatrics should just accept they didn't make it and just be numbers men for their leaders.

How about thinking outside the box and selecting Tokyo Mayor Yuriko Koike? She's dealing with COVID-19 now and managing Japan's largest city. I think she would be able to handle prime minister related duties and responsibilities. As a woman, her election would contribute greatly to breaking up some of the "old boys" clubs and dragging Japan into the 21st century, as far as women in politics are concerned.

@ToshiYori

She had her chance, but buckled and resigned even though it wasn't her fault. I don't think she'll ever get another chance, the others know here weakness now, and they'll use it.

socrateosToday  12:52 am JST

I would love to see Ishiba becoming the next PM. He is a rare LDP politician, who is openly critical of Abe and LDP leadership. He is critical of Abenomics. He is from Tottori Prefecture, one of the fewest populations in Japan, and deeply concerned about local economies of Japan. He is most popular among grass roots LDP members.

I think the wishes of the ordinary party members should take precedence over those of the Diet members, but Ishiba? His solution to the problem with local economies is more public works spending, which really amounts too little more than bribes for LDP-affiliated construction companies in over-represented rural areas. He's yet another third-generation politician and Nippon Kaigi member whose ideas about national defense are extremely questionable.

I really want to see the opposition get their act together and step up so that there's a viable alternative to the LDP come the next local house election. The left-leaning, moderate, centrist and liberal CDPJ and DPFP politicians need to get their new party sorted out, tell the right-wingers to join the LDP or take a hike, get some media-savvy leaders who know how to get attention and actually make people aware of what they can do differently and better from the LDP. Instead of pointless no-confidence motions, they could present alternative legislation in the Diet - the LDP majority will vote against it of course, but they could show the people what they stand for in a public forum and let them see they're actually trying to get things done. Then the voters might realise that there's an alternative to yet another mediocre LDP oligarch.