Yasuo Fukuda was elected president of the Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday and is certain to become Japan's next prime minister this week to replace Shinzo Abe, who surprised the nation Sept. 12 by suddenly announcing his intention to step down.
The basic direction of the new government's domestic and diplomatic policies isn't likely to change much from those of the Abe administration, but the new prime minister is expected to make some adjustments. One key area where an adjustment is expected is on the issue of the widening gap between "winners and losers" in Japan — which is believed to be one of the main reasons why the LDP lost the House of Councilors election in July.
On Sept. 7, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry released a report on revising minimum wages in the 47 prefectures. Let's take a look at this issue as one aspect of the rich-poor gap.