As newly elected Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba gets set to be named prime minister Tuesday during an extraordinary session of parliament, a snap general election at the end of next month appears increasingly likely.
Over the weekend, Ishiba, who won the party presidency Friday, began putting together the LDP’s senior leadership team, and indicated he may dissolve the Lower House and hold an election soon in the hope of winning a mandate for the party and his leadership.
“I won’t deny there are various possibilities,” Ishiba said on an NHK program Sunday when asked directly about the scenario. Earlier in the day, he said during a Fuji Television program that, as far as a general election is concerned, “the earlier, the better.”
Though Ishiba did not offer specific dates, multiple media outlets reported Sunday that preparations were underway for the campaign to begin Oct. 15 and for an election to be held Oct. 27.
Talk of a snap election in the coming weeks comes as Ishiba finalizes his choices for LDP leadership positions and his Cabinet.
Most of the top posts for both are leaning toward veterans with deep connections across the party, and include those who are close to Ishiba, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is set to replace Taro Aso, a longtime Suga rival, as LDP vice president.
Ishiba was also expected to name Hiroshi Moriyama, 79, as secretary-general. Moriyama, currently chair of the general council, is one of the LDP’s most powerful behind-the-scenes figures. He is trusted by a broad range of party members who are otherwise rivals, and considered a safe pair of hands to guide the party as it tries to move on from a slush funds scandal and prepare for a general election.
Another top party post, chair of the Diet Affairs Committee, will go to agriculture minister Tetsushi Sakamoto, a close Moriyama ally and a former member of his now-dissolved LDP faction.
Ishiba’s campaign manager in the presidential race, 67-year-old former Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya, was expected to be rewarded with the post of foreign minister.
Former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, 64, was expected to become chair of the LDP Policy Research Council, which is in charge of drawing up party policies. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, meanwhile, looked likely to continue in his role as the government’s top spokesperson.
Hayashi is close to Kishida, and was the No. 2 in his former faction as well as a candidate in the presidential election. Known within the party as an effective troubleshooter, Hayashi finished fourth out of the nine candidates. Onodera was also a senior member of Kishida’s faction.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, 43, who finished third after being strongly backed by Suga in the election, is Ishiba’s choice for chair of the LDP’s Election Strategy Committee.
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, 68, was set to be named finance minister. Kato served as the top government spokesman in 2020 and 2021, when Suga was prime minister. Current Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, 71, who is also Aso’s brother-in-law, will likely be tapped to replace Moriyama as General Council chairman.
Other anticipated appointments include Takamaro Fukuoka, 51, as health minister; Nobuhide Minorikawa, 60, as reconstruction minister; Junko Mihara, 60, as child care policy minister; and Toshiko Abe, 65, as education minister.
Coalition partner Komeito’s Tetsuo Saito, 72, will keep his current post as land minister.
All Cabinet appointments will be officially confirmed Tuesday, when parliament convenes. Ishiba faces a busy time after that, as a supplementary budget must be decided in short order.
He will also make his first appearance abroad as prime minister when he travels to Laos for an ASEAN leaders’ summit, from Oct. 6-11.
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