Tokyo

Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso is making waves within the Liberal Democratic Party for signaling his support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s possible bid to seek a fourth term as president of the ruling party.

The suggestion by Aso, a close ally of Abe, particularly rattled the intraparty factions led by LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Fumio Kishida and former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba, both seen as “post-Abe” candidates to succeed him as LDP president and prime minister.

LDP members close to current Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, who has spoken ahead of others about the possibility of Abe serving a fourth term, sought to minimize the impact of Aso’s comments.

Under the party’s current rules, LDP presidents can serve up to three consecutive three-year terms for a total of nine years. Abe is now in the final term, which is set to expire in September 2021.

While Abe himself has repeatedly denied the possibility of seeking a fourth term, which would require a revision to the party rules, many in the party say he will not be able to achieve a revision of the Constitution, his signature policy, before the end of his final term as LDP president.

In light of this, Aso, in an interview with monthly magazine Bungei Shunju, said that Abe “must be committed to even seeking a fourth term” if he is to achieve constitutional revision. The interview story is included in the latest edition of the Japanese magazine published Tuesday.

The comments were met with criticisms from Kishida’s faction, which hopes that Abe will handpick the faction leader as his successor. A fourth term by Abe would derail Kishida’s basic strategy to become LDP president and prime minister.

“Aso just wants to maintain his influence,” a mid-ranking member of the faction said. “He’s an old fart.” Ishiba’s faction is wary of the narrative in support of Abe’s fourth term, as the leader of the group is not close to the prime minister.

One mid-ranking member of the faction quipped that Aso’s comments came “at a time when people are questioning long-term administrations in the wake of (the cronyism allegations over) cherry blossom-viewing parties.” Abe has been under fire for inviting many of his supporters to the tax-funded annual events hosted by the prime minister.

Meanwhile, members of Nikai’s faction have commented on the possibility of Abe adding another term to his party presidency. Takeo Kawamura, former chief cabinet secretary, said in a speech Wednesday that “the mood (in the party regarding Abe) will change” based on whether U.S. President Donald Trump will be reelected in the November 2020 poll. “If he is reelected, it would be difficult to remove a prime minister capable of talking one-on-one with the president,” he added.

Another senior official of the faction scoffed at Aso’s remarks. “It’s just a pale imitation” of Nikai’s remarks backing Abe’s fourth term, the official said. “Comments are only valuable when you’re the first to say them.”

Jiji Press