Prime Minister Takaichi’s Denial of Imai’s “Report” of Chief Cabinet Counselor’s “Ouster” and the “Movement within the Party” that Causes a Rift

Dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to the Strait of Hormuz

The area around Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (65) is suddenly in an uproar.

The April issue of the monthly general information magazine “Choice” reported “The Night Takaichi Said ‘Resignation,'” and reported a rift between Takaichi and his Cabinet Counselor Takaya Imai, 67, who is called the “sword in his hand” in the administration.

According to the magazine, Imai rebuked Prime Minister Takaichi in the prime minister’s office for his forward-looking stance on dispatching the Self-Defense Forces to the Strait of Hormuz during his visit to the U.S. in March. Although the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces was ultimately abandoned due to opposition from the ruling party, the prime minister was reportedly upset about that day and later spoke of Imai’s ouster in a gathering of government officials.

Imai was a supporter of the second Abe administration and is said to have led the dissolution of the House of Representatives in January, which ended with a historic victory. Prime Minister Takaichi has completely denied the series of reports, but a source in Nagata-cho said, “Both of them are very strong.

“Both of them are very strong, and there were fears that they would not get along. Since the Strait of Hormuz incident, Imai has been coming to the Prime Minister’s Office only about once a week. There is no doubt that he has grown distant from us.

He is now a regular visitor to the prime minister’s office. It seems certain that the Takaichi administration, which seemed to be on a firm footing with a high approval rating, has begun to “go haywire. A young LDP lawmaker revealed, “Prime Minister Takaichi has not said a single word.

In a word, he is scary. There are many friendly images of him in the media, but in the Diet he always has a stern face. It’s not like young people can talk to him easily.

Asked about the January dissolution of the Diet at an April 6 meeting of the Upper House Budget Committee, he replied.

He stated nonchalantly, “I didn’t tell the LDP executive committee about it, so everyone was furious about it.

He stated matter-of-factly, “I didn’t even tell the LDP executive committee about the January dissolution. The young councilor mentioned above said

I was scared, too. He was furious. But we won the election, didn’t we? That’s what it means. Well, yes, but ……”

He laughed bitterly.

According to some reports, Prime Minister Takaichi has become a “loner” within the administration.

Even his secretaries are not allowed to ride in his car, and only a few people, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, are open to him. His relationship with Vice President Taro Aso, the “kingmaker” who helped bring Prime Minister Takaichi to power in the LDP presidential election last January, is also said to be insecure.

Movement within the party is not interesting.

Mr. Aso always advised Prime Minister Takaichi, ‘You can study in your room, but meet with people,’ but his style has not changed. He has publicly told those around him, ‘I don’t want to go out drinking after all. In his recent administration, he has been wrestling alone a lot, and we did not hear that he exchanged views with Mr. Aso on the situation in Iran.

It was the “strength in numbers” of the Aso faction that encouraged the election of Takaichi as prime minister in last year’s LDP presidential election. Perhaps realizing that this was a bad idea, on April 10, Takaichi had lunch with Aso, Secretary General Shunichi Suzuki, and Acting Secretary General Kōichi Hagiuda for about an hour at the prime minister’s residence to communicate with them. ……

Political commentator Harumi Arima on developments within the LDP,

He said, “Although all the LDP factions except the Aso faction have been dissolved, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Yoshimasa Hayashi, Ryota Takeda, and others have been holding lunch meetings on Thursdays to bring together members of the LDP. Such meetings are becoming more active within the LDP here. Since they are not a faction, there is no financial support, but there is no doubt that this is a move toward the next presidential election. I am sure that Prime Minister Takaichi is not amused by such moves within the party.

He is definitely not amused by such a move within the party,” said Mr. Kane.

At an April 7 meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, Takaichi was asked about the way he spends his time at his official residence. Mr. Takaichi said, “When I return to the residence, I take a bath.

When I return to the residence, I take a bath and eat, and housework takes up a lot of my time. I sleep very little, but the rest of my time is spent working.”

Takaichi answered, “I don’t work overtime. He said that his daily routine is to work “overtime” at his official residence until late at night. A parliamentary secretary who knows Prime Minister Takaichi also said

“It is not unusual for me to be on the phone with the prime minister until after midnight,” a parliamentary secretary who knows Prime Minister Takaichi testified.

The time he sleeps is a concern. As for the amount of sleep he gets, he said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors last year that he gets between two and four hours of sleep on long days.

“He usually sleeps from two hours to four hours on a long day,” he said.

He has also increased the number of cigarettes he smokes.

The number of cigarettes he smokes has also increased, and he smokes more than a pack a day. When he met President Trump in March, he suddenly hugged the president to prevent him from pulling his right hand away when shaking his hand. There is no doubt that he is wounded to the bone by what could be called a national crisis.

Prime Minister Takaichi has led the LDP to a historic victory. However, it seems that the world of politics is “just a little bit in the dark.” ……