Until the first half of last week, Japan’s political pundits were predicting the future of a new coalition government based on the assumption that Sanae Takaichi, the new Liberal Democratic Party president, would become the next prime minister.
But last Friday's “midlife divorce” drama between the LDP and Komeito leaders drastically changed the situation once again. Currently, the Japanese media is inundated with shallow analyses, focused solely on “who will become the next prime minister” — and missing the bigger picture.
My concern right now, however, isn't about selecting the next prime minister or the success or failure of a new coalition. My focus is entirely on whether Japan's parliament will finally begin to “Knessetize” (referring to Israel's parliament, and by extension, unstable coalition politics dominated by multiple small parties). If it does, how long will this last and will Japan's domestic political stability ultimately be restored? In this context, immediately after the Upper House election in late July, I wrote the following in these pages:
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