Although Taro Aso won a landslide victory in the presidential election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sept. 22 and was elected prime minister two days later, his administration could conceivably become the shortest in history, shorter even than the record 54 days of Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, who ruled the country starting Aug. 17, 1945 — two days after World War II ended.
The outcome of the Lower House election, likely to take place within weeks rather than months, could defy the common notion that the next government will be headed by either Aso of the LDP or Ichiro Ozawa, the leader of the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
This is because, despite Aso's overwhelming victory in the LDP presidential race, two people who ran against him loom as large as ever: Kaoru Yosano, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, and Yuriko Koike, former defense minister and a rare female political heavyweight.