Although “Sanae-chan Manju” is a big hit… President Sanae Takaichi, who is “not so naive” in leaving Komeito to curry favor with the elders, is at the helm.

Sanae-chan manju is selling like hotcakes.

On October 7, three days after Sanae Takaichi, 64, was elected as the new president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the new product was unveiled at souvenir shops in the Diet Members’ Building and the Diet. An illustration of Mr. Takaichi sitting in the new president’s chair with a speech balloon reading “I am the new LDP president! The new product was “Celebration of the New President, Sanae-chan Red and White Manju” with a speech balloon that reads “I am the new president! When this reporter went to the souvenir shop in the Diet Members’ Building, a woman visiting the Diet from Shizuoka held three boxes of the red and white manju in her hands, smiled and said, “The environment in which women can work more easily is progressing,” and went to the cash register. Shinzo Terada, 79, owner of Okame-do, a 54-year-old store in the second assembly hall, said.

Two cases of 24 pieces arrived today, and they have been selling out since the morning. Although they are unauthorized goods, including manjuu, they are also a barometer of a politician’s popularity. Mr. Takaichi is also off to a good start.”

The LDP’s relationship with the public, which has lasted for 26 years, has reached a turning point. The LDP leaders are expected to discuss the matter during the three-day weekend from November 11 to 13, and explain the circumstances of Komeito’s withdrawal from the coalition at a meeting of both houses of the Diet on November 14.

The LDP may have “stumbled” in the party’s personnel arrangement. In Nagata-cho, the personnel changes were ridiculed as “almost an Aso administration” and “a resurgence of factional politics.

In the presidential election, Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi (44), who had two former prime ministers as his successors, was considered the frontrunner, but when former Prime Minister Taro Aso (85), who leads the only faction, called for Takaichi’s vote, former Secretary General Toshimitsu Mogi (70), who lost the first vote, and others agreed, resulting in a major upset.

In a party shakeup, Aso was named vice president, and his brother-in-law Shunichi Suzuki, 72, chairman of the General Affairs Committee, was promoted to secretary-general. Aso’s brother-in-law, Shunichi Suzuki, 72, was promoted to secretary-general. Haruko Arimura, 55, a former minister of women’s activities and a nominee of Takaichi, also became chairman of the General Affairs Committee, leaving the party management in Aso’s hands.

On May 5, the day after the vote was cast, Mr. Aso and Mr. Takaichi met at party headquarters, indicating to the public that Mr. Takaichi, who has a weak base within the party, has chosen Mr. Aso as his guardian. Aso’s faction holds two of the party’s four seats, and Suzuki’s appointment as the party’s No. 2 secretary general has raised questions both inside and outside the party about whether the party’s unity of purpose is based on a bias toward meritocracy. Aso is also known for his dislike of Komeito and academic societies, and all but Suzuki have been distant from Komeito, leading to concerns that the appointments would provoke Komeito.

Still, Aso’s prestige allows him to keep a close eye on things in Nagatacho and Kasumigaseki, and Takaichi has been pushing a policy of aggressive fiscal spending and fiscal stimulus. How will Mr. Takaichi deal with Mr. Aso, who is known as the “guardian god of the Ministry of Finance,” and how will he show his own color? The difference in temperature between fiscal reconstruction and mobilization will eventually come to the surface.

Mr. Takaichi inherited former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” policy, calling it “Sanaenomics,” and won the election with a policy that emphasizes economic stimulus through aggressive fiscal spending. He spoke of “issuing deficit-covering government bonds as an option” for necessary investments, such as defense spending, and indicated that he would not rule out a consumption tax cut sought by the opposition parties in the presidential election. He also called for a “tax credit with benefits,” a combination of income tax cuts and cash transfers, as a measure to counter high prices. The policies that Takaichi is advocating are accompanied by fiscal stimulus, a policy that the Ministry of Finance is wary of.

Even the kingmaker is untouchable.

A veteran LDP secretary sees Takaichi’s fiscal policy as not going as envisioned.

Former Prime Minister Aso is his chaperone, and he has a coordinating role with the Ministry of Finance. While giving Takaichi, who enjoys a high approval rating as the new LDP president, a certain amount of “flower,” Aso will control him to avoid unbridled fiscal spending, and he will make sure that he does not cut consumption taxes, which the Ministry of Finance hates.

With the LDP now the minority ruling party, no bills or budgets can be passed without the cooperation of the opposition parties. Mr. Takaichi himself does not have a strong connection with the opposition parties, and there is no concrete plan for a coalition and no one around him who is likely to be able to achieve it. Aso, who has been in contact with the KDP since the Kishida administration, met with KDP Secretary General Haruha Katsuya, 58, on March 5 and 6. Aso is also “relying on Aso” in his discussions with the opposition parties.

Mr. Takaichi and the KDP agreed on the aggressive fiscal policy that Mr. Aso is advocating, and they are aiming to pass a bill to abolish the provisional gasoline tax rate in the extraordinary Diet session. In addition, we would like to expand the coalition by raising the so-called “1.03 million yen barrier,” but raising the barrier to 1.78 million yen would require 7 to 8 trillion yen in fiscal resources, simply calculated,” he said. 〜The Ministry of Finance and the Tax Commission have been standing in the way of raising the barrier to 1.78 million yen, which would require 7-8 trillion yen in financial resources. Mr. Aso’s role will be to find a compromise between Mr. Takaichi and the Ministry of Finance.

There is one area in which Aso, who is active on all fronts, has been unable to do much.

The largest supporter of the National Coalition for Democratic Party of Japan (NDP) has publicly stated that it would “not accept” the party’s entry into the ruling party, and labor-union members of the NDP have even threatened to leave the party if a coalition is formed. In addition, Komeito, one of the ruling parties, has announced that it will leave the coalition, but Mr. Aso lacks the necessary connections. The government has left too much to Mr. Aso, and the path to stability in power has become unclear.

Even if relations are restored with the New Komeito party, which has announced its intention to leave the coalition, the party will simply return to being a minority ruling party with a majority that falls short of the majority. It seems that the prospect of a special Diet session to be convened soon will not be as sweet as anko (sweet red and white bean paste).