Although the election campaign is still to come, Yoshihide Suga, the top spokesman for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration, is the heavy favorite to become the next president of the Liberal Democratic Party and, thus, prime minister. That’s good news for one opposition party: Nippon Ishin no Kai.
Centered in Osaka, Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) has long enjoyed a close relationship with Suga, the current chief Cabinet secretary, sharing many of the same political beliefs as the current administration, including the desire for constitutional revision.
Nippon Ishin executives — Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin head Ichiro Matsui, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, and former Nippon Ishin leader and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto — have met regularly with Suga since Abe returned to power in December 2012.