Yamaguchi Natsuo Serving as Party Leader for 15 Years
Previously Reached Agreement with Abe Shinzo to Form Coalition Government
The leader of Komeito, which forms a coalition government with Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is expected to change for the first time in 15 years.
On the 6th, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, citing sources, that Komeito is coordinating to replace its leader, Natsuo Yamaguchi, at the party convention scheduled for the 28th.
Previously, Komeito and its parent organization, Soka Gakkai, had pushed for Yamaguchi's reappointment, but following Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's announcement that he will not run in the LDP presidential election, calls for generational change within Komeito have reportedly grown stronger.
Yamaguchi has served as party leader for 15 years since 2009. He is also known for solidifying Komeito's position by negotiating a coalition with then-LDP leader Shinzo Abe when the LDP regained its status as the largest party in 2012 after a period in opposition to the Democratic Party.
Local media view current Secretary-General Keiichi Ishii as the most likely successor to Yamaguchi. Ishii, a ten-term lawmaker and former official of the Ministry of Construction (now Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism from 2015 to 2019.
Since last month, a wave of generational change has been sweeping through Japanese politics, triggered by Prime Minister Kishida's decision not to seek reappointment amid pressure to step down. More than ten candidates have expressed their intention to run in the LDP presidential election scheduled for the 27th, with former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba competing for the top spot in various opinion polls.
In particular, former Environment Minister Koizumi, who is 43 years old this year, is the youngest among the potential candidates within the party. He has not been implicated in the LDP factional slush fund scandals, which is seen as an advantage in terms of the generational change theme central to this election. Earlier, Prime Minister Kishida also expressed his hope that "the next LDP president will be someone free from political slush fund scandals."
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