Welcome to Issues in Japan.
This time, I would like to share an inside story about the political situation in Japan, from the Sankei Shimbun newspaper web news.
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga are increasingly appealing their good relationship in public.
As prime minister and chief cabinet secretary in the second Shinzo Abe administration, they built a strong relationship of trust, but it has been said that a rift emerged when Kan stepped down as prime minister last fall.
The second administration had an overwhelming team strength, and Mr. Suga, who served as Chief Cabinet Secretary, was particularly important.
Shinzo Abe praised Yoshihide Suga in the monthly magazine "Bungei Shunju" published on January 8.
Yoshihide Suga also said in a TV program on BS Tokyo on January 16, "I am grateful to Mr. Shinzo Abe for his support," "Abenomics (Mr. Shinzo Abe's economic policy) has been a success."
The first whispers of friction between the two men came last September when Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga decided not to run for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency.
Those close to Yoshihide Suga who knew him at the time said, "Mr. Suga was not confident that he would be able to gain Mr. Shinzo Abe's support in the presidential election and seemed to be distrustful."
In the end, Yoshihide Suga endorsed Taro Kono, the head of the party's public relations headquarters, who is far from Shinzo Abe in the race for the presidency.
The addition of former secretary general Shigeru Ishiba, who had been at odds with Shinzo Abe, to Kono's camp led to the widespread view that "Mr. Shinzo Abe and Mr. Yoshihide Suga parted company," according to a party insider.
At the end of last year, Shinzo Abe, Vice President Taro Aso, and Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi had dinner together at about the same time that Yoshihide Suga, former National Diet Committee Chairman Yutaka Moriyama, Shigeru Ishiba, and others held another banquet, adding to speculation that the relationship between Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga had deteriorated.
However, the two men have been conspicuous in giving opinions to the Prime Minister Kishida at the same time.
On January 20, Shinzo Abe criticized the government's decision to temporarily consider not recommending the Sado Island gold mine to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), calling it "wrong."
On the 12th of the same month, in an interview with the Sankei Shimbun newspaper, Yoshihide Suga also stressed that "the third dose of the vaccine should be implemented as soon as possible" in light of the rapid spread of the new coronavirus.
Shinzo Abe has said publicly, "Mr. Suga and I have a very strong bond," and Yoshihide Suga has also told those around him, "There is nothing to confront Mr. Shinzo Abe about."
There have been whispers of a "Great Kochikai Group Initiative" that would reunite the Aso Faction (53 members), the Kishida Faction, and the Tanigaki Group (about 30 members), whose source is the Kishida Faction (Kochikai Group, 44 members) led by the Prime Minister.
The fact that Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga are in step with each other is seen as a check on this "Great Kochikai Group Initiative.”
If this reunification is realized, it will exceed the power of the Shinzo Abe faction (94 members) which is the largest faction in the party.
If Yoshihide Suga, who is not a member of any faction, is buried within the party, it will be difficult for him to get involved in the policies he set forth when he was prime minister, such as the realization of a decarbonized society.
The alliance between the two former prime ministers may affect the political balance within the party.
That’s all for now. Thank you for your interest.
