Japan is represented by Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Sanae Takaichi represented Japan at the G7 S&T Ministers meeting in Sendai. (Courtesy of the Cabinet Office of Japan)
An American friend asked me recently about my views on Japanese politics and the upcoming Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election. The election will take place in late September. My friend also asked who I wish to see as the next party president (and thus, prime minister). After our discussion, he suggested I write about who I support and why for a non-Japanese audience. I took him up on his request. Minister of Economic Security, Sanae Takaichi, is the politician I hope will lead this country forward as prime minister.
Post-Abe Crisis
Japan is in a critical situation right now. This is largely due to the ruling LDP having lost its way since the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022. The party now promotes a big and expansive government to an unprecedented level and leans far to the left
Traditionally, LDP members range from right to left, almost as if the United States Republican and Democratic parties were in one party together. According to Kyoko Nishikawa, a former LDP House of Councillors member who served as vice minister of education, the ratio was about 3:7.
Because Abe, a conservative realist on the right, was in power for a long time, his faction became the mainstream within the LDP. This was much like the early years when his grandfather helped establish the party in the 1950s. As the former Abe faction controlled the party for most of the past two decades, party leftists were relegated to the sidelines.
Leftward Sway and China Ties
Even after Abe handed over power in 2020 to Yoshihide Suga, this did not change significantly. However, following the former's assassination, the mainstream with the LDP quickly came under the sway of the liberals within the party.
In addition to their failure to monitor spending and their preference for big government, there are many other problems with LDP leftists.
On the foreign policy side, they tend, historically, to be pro-People's Republic of China (PRC), either for ideological or economic reasons. However, the PRC has made claims on Japanese territory and has been unilaterally overturning the status quo throughout the region. It is unforgivable for politicians to seek close ties with the PRC under these circumstances.
Here, a great mismatch exists. Although public sentiment is largely anti-China, there are many pro-China factions within the ruling party, including its coalition partner, the Komeito party.
Speculation has been high about when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, part of a pro-China faction, would dissolve the Lower House and call for elections. Recent scandals and poor by-election results have worsened the party's situation.
The prime minister, who has the constitutional right to dissolve the House of Representatives, could have waited. However, waiting did not improve his dismal support numbers. Now he has announced that he will not seek reelection as head of the party in its internal election in September.
Placing Hope in Takaichi
Against this backdrop, Sanae Takaichi is the only conservative realist with a chance at the party presidency. She has served as minister of state for economic security since 2022. Takaichi ran against Kishida in the September 2021 LDP presidential election and is the only one who can claim to have truly inherited "Abe-ism."
For example, she has worked hard to protect Japan against industrial and other types of espionage by China. Last year's passage of the official security clearance bill was particularly relevant for dual-use technologies.
I hope she will win the presidency and emerge as the next prime minister of Japan. It would make her the first female leader of the country. For one, she is a policy expert in several important areas. In addition, she is also a rare politician in Japan with a firm and clear vision for the nation. Her perspective is grounded in a proper understanding of history and a deep respect for Japan's rich culture and traditions.
Unscathed by Scandals
I am not the only one who hopes for this. Abe, with whom Takaichi was close, supported her in the 2021 contest. Interestingly and fortunately for her, she has been untouched by any of the scandals affecting Abe's former faction. Having left it in 2011 when it was headed by the late Nobutaka Machimura, she was not formally a member of the faction.
Her lack of membership in the former Abe faction, Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyukai, was long seen as a weakness. The faction disbanded on February 1, 2024. Ironically, in the wake of the media and intra-party attacks on the faction, her not being part of it was a blessing in disguise.
Takaichi is untainted by the various scandals that have damaged other claimants to the premiership.
As a member of the Kishida cabinet, Takaichi is loyal to the prime minister. She told me and others recently at a large gathering in Hiroshima that she works hard every day to contribute to the cabinet's accomplishments.
A Clear Contrast
With this said the contrast between Takaichi and Kishida could not be clearer. Since her first election to the Diet, she has proudly visited Yasukuni Shrine many times. She visits during the spring and autumn festivals and on August 15, the day of Japan's surrender.
Takaichi believes it is important for Diet members to offer sincere thanks to the spirits of those who died in service of national policy. As she has commented, "It is a matter of course for a member of the Japanese Diet to do so. It should not be a diplomatic issue."
When Takaichi goes abroad in her official capacity, she pays visits to their memorials, honoring the war dead in those countries. Moreover, she has stated that she will proudly visit Yasukuni as prime minister, something Kishida has yet to do.
Defending Tradition
Unfortunately, the media, including the foreign media, misunderstands and misreports her and criticizes her respect for tradition and conservative values as a native of Nara Prefecture. To this, I would say two things.
First, it is vital that a country hold dear its culture, heritage, values, and identity. Without them, the entire nation would be lost. A national politician, especially a prime minister, must represent and articulate the essential values and traditions of the nation. This responsibility applies both domestically and globally.
Second, being conservative does not mean being hesitant to change but reluctant to change for the worse. Change is not good if it does not lead to improvement. Japanese voters who have traditionally supported the LDP but do not like the country's current course will likely support Takaichi this time in greater numbers. I certainly will.
Ready to Lead Japan
Many will remember her unmatched ability to debate her rivals in the previous LDP presidential election. In the interim, she has only grown as a politician, cabinet member, and leader and become even more knowledgeable about the issues facing Japan. I strongly believe that she can get the country back on course.
Takaichi, too, recognizes the importance of doing so, telling an audience recently that this may be Japan's last chance. I hope this is not the case. However, if there is anyone I would want to take over and point the way at this economically, diplomatically, politically, militarily, and technologically critical juncture, it is Takaichi.
Her cabinet and party leadership experiences, along with her understanding of the importance of protecting the nation both physically and culturally, stand out. These qualities make her the only candidate worthy of my vote.
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Author: Masanori Inoue
Inoue is president, Kyushu Historical Tourism Strategic Institute and the author of the Japanese language historical guide to shrines entitled Why Shrines in Fukuoka Are Unique.
