Editorial: Japan’s LDP leadership race to test party’s true desire to reform after scandal

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will elect a successor to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has announced he will not seek another term as party president, on Sept. 27. The campaign period will officially launch on Sept. 12 and last 15 days, the longest in LDP history. The aim is to increase opportunities for candidates to debate, including in regional areas, and to demonstrate the renewed party.

Kishida was essentially forced to step aside due to the mishandling of the LDP factions’ slush fund scandal, which led to a surge in public distrust of politics. How will the party address the lingering “politics and money” issue? If the LDP says it wants to renew itself, the priority is to show its stance and path toward realizing that goal.

The full details of the slush fund operation remain unclear. Although the Political Funds Control Act has been revised, many loopholes have been left intact. While a new independent body to audit political funds is to be established, discussions on the system’s design have not even begun.

As many as 11 candidates have expressed their desire to run in the LDP leadership election, making for a crowded field.

Former minister of economic security Takayuki Kobayashi, who was among the first to announce his candidacy, declared, “The LDP will be reborn. We will thoroughly eliminate factional elections.” However, from his press conference remarks and demeanor, it is hard to see any firm resolve to purge the party of its deeply rooted money politics.

At his press conference, many mid-level and young members from the Abe faction, which was involved in the systematic creation of the slush funds, were present to show their support. Some of these lawmakers who belonged to the faction formerly led by late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have even faced party disciplinary action. In an internet program that aired before the news conference, Kobayashi questioned excluding those who were disciplined from key party positions.

Other candidates also show no signs of confronting the political funding issue head-on. At this rate, it will be difficult to regain the public’s trust.

In the LDP, factions have traditionally controlled money and personnel moves, and the party president has been chosen through strategic alliances and breakups of these factional forces. With many factions now declaring they will dissolve ahead of this leadership election, the question is whether the party can shift from factional dynamics to a selection process based on policy and individual merit.

Since the scandal came to light, there has been little movement within the party to push for reform. With the expiration of the House of Representatives members’ terms approaching in fall 2025, necessitating a general election, the entire party is now under scrutiny.

If the slush fund scandal is swept under the rug, the public will see the leadership change as nothing more than a superficial attempt to swap “the face of the party” for elections. What is needed is competition over each candidate’s commitment to reform and the substance of their policies through open debate.