<figure id="attachment_390089" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-390089" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1f149349"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/09/ab33f12e0336077dbe5f8b67ecd71e97-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-390089" class="wp-caption-text">Shinjiro Koizumi is considered the &#8220;frontrunner&#8221; in the LDP presidential race, but &#8230;&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
 Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who is expected to become the youngest prime minister in history, may have an unexpected &#8220;pitfall&#8221; waiting for him.
 At a press conference held on September 6, more than 200 people applied in advance, but only one person from each company was allowed to attend, and in the end, 125 people were granted permission to cover the event.
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 Seating was also determined, with the front rows occupied by reporters from the so-called &#8220;major media. Shinjiro&#8217;s camp was wary of questions about his past relationships with women, so the reporters from major media outlets who were willing to listen to him about politics were first selected for the Q&amp;A session,&#8221; said a reporter from a TV station who covered the event.
 One of the TV station reporters who covered the event said, &#8220;The reporters were very careful about asking questions about his past relationships with women.
 As expected, the media and freelance reporters who had been pushed to the back of the line said to me.
 &#8220;Guess more fairly!
 and &#8220;Guess more impartially! Then came the question.
 The question was, &#8220;Everyone is worried that if you attend the G7 meeting, you will be embarrassed by the low intellectual level of the participants. Wouldn&#8217;t that be detrimental to Japan&#8217;s national strength?&#8221;
 The question was asked by a freelance male reporter. On the Internet, it was commented
 &#8220;That&#8217;s too rude, no matter how much.
 It&#8217;s just terrible.&#8221;
 &#8220;I have seen a decline in journalism.
 However, Mr. Shinjiro calmly replied, &#8220;It is true that there are many things I am not good enough for.
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 I think it is true that I have many shortcomings. It is also true that I am not perfect. However, I will build a team that can make up for those shortcomings. We will build the best team. And then I believe I am ready to face the leaders of each country.&#8221;
 He responded with a &#8220;model&#8221; answer. Shinjiro&#8217;s &#8220;stock&#8221; rose as a result of his successful handling of the situation.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The vote is sure to be a decisive one. ......"></div>
The mood is suddenly favorable. Among the bureaucrats in the Kasumigaseki bureaucracy and young business people, the number of supporters of Shinjiro is rapidly increasing, and &#8220;Shinjiro Koizumi, the new prime minister&#8221; is about to become a reality, not just a story. However, one cannot be too careful.
 In addition to Shinjiro, other candidates in the LDP presidential race include Shigeru Ishiba, Taro Kono, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Sanae Takaichi, Toshimitsu Mogi, Takayuki Kobayashi, and Katsunobu Kato. In addition, Ken Saito, Yoko Kamikawa, Kiyoharu Aoyama, and Seiko Noda are working hard to secure nominees.
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 The presidential election process is based on the Diet members&#8217; vote, in which one vote is allocated per member of the Diet, and the party members&#8217; vote, which is based on votes cast by party members and friends nationwide. Voting for the party members&#8217; votes will close on September 26, and the number of votes counted by each prefectural and metropolitan federation will be counted together at the party headquarters, and the total number of votes cast will be distributed proportionally to each candidate by the dont method.
 On the day of the vote counting, secret ballots will be cast by the 367 Diet members eligible to vote in the hall of the party headquarters, and the ballots will be opened on the spot. The candidate who wins a majority of the valid votes cast, together with the party member votes whose total number is adjusted to the same ratio as the Diet members, will become the new president. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a runoff will be held between the top two candidates.
 If there are so many candidates in the race, it is almost impossible for a candidate to win a majority of the votes cast in the first round of voting.
 It is almost impossible to get a majority in the first round of voting,&#8221; said a TV station reporter.
 Therefore, it is necessary to be among the top two candidates who will be entitled to a runoff vote. A source in Nagatacho tells us in a meaningful way, &#8220;One of them is Mr. Ishiba, and the other is Mr. Kuroda.
 One of them must be Mr. Ishiba. As is the case every time, the party members&#8217; votes are overwhelmingly strong. The question is who will be Mr. Ishiba&#8217;s opponent. Most people think it will be Shinjiro, but the world of politics is always in the dark. You never know until you open the door.
 The corruption in the LDP, which was exposed by the slush fund scandal, and the factional politics that had been a symbol of that corruption, have been dismantled, though perhaps only on the surface. The party is looking for &#8220;change,&#8221; and that is what has propelled 43-year-old Koizumi Shinjiro to the prime ministerial nomination. &#8230;&#8230;
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 According to data obtained by this website, it is not Shinjiro but Takayuki Kobayashi, a.k.a. &#8220;Kobahawk,&#8221; who enjoys overwhelming support among the younger members of the LDP.
 Among the young LDP members from the first to fourth terms, Kobayashi&#8217;s popularity is more than double that of the runner-up. The leader of the race is Akira Amari, a member of the Aso faction. He is distancing himself from Taro Kono, who is promoted by the Aso faction, and is supporting Kobayashi. My impression is that there is a group of members who are in favor of generational change but not for Shinjiro,&#8221; says Mr. Kobayashi. Mr. Kobayashi has the universal support of the Abe faction, the Aso faction, the Nikai faction, and younger members of the factionless party. The problem is the votes of party members and friends nationwide, but his popularity is slowly rising. As media attention turns to Shinjiro, he may surprise them with his &#8216;stealth tactics'&#8221; (political insider).
 The situation is still in flux, as many Diet members have yet to announce their stance. The situation is still in flux, as many members of the Diet have yet to announce their stance, and it is likely that a fierce battle will continue until the day of the election.

 Takeshi Kinugawa

 The LDP presidential race is heating up, with a wide range of candidates running for the office. The two candidates who are considered the frontrunners in this fierce race are Shinjiro Koizumi and Shigeru Ishiba, who are said to have difficulty winning a majority of the votes cast in a single round, and a decisive vote is inevitable. ......

A &#8220;dark horse&#8221; who enjoys overwhelming support from young LDP lawmakers, who are waiting for &#8220;Shinjiro Koizumi vs. Shigeru Ishiba&#8221; to be decided.

A “dark horse” who enjoys overwhelming support from young LDP lawmakers, who are waiting for “Shinjiro Koizumi vs. Shigeru Ishiba” to be decided.

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