Prime Minister Taro Kono’s birth may be short-lived
Taro Kono, the new prime minister, may be short-lived even if he is elected
“The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is in a state of unprecedented turmoil over the post-San era. Amidst all this, there is one man who is receiving enthusiastic support from younger members of the party. He is Taro Kono, 58, the minister in charge of administrative reform.
“There are many young members of the LDP who have only experienced elections with a tailwind, including the ‘third-generation demon’ who was first elected in 2012. Their groundwork is fragile, and they are scared of a lower house election under these headwinds. In such a situation, Mr. Kono, as the minister in charge of vaccines, has been appearing in the media every day and has been sending out his policy messages on social networking sites, and he has high name recognition. That’s why he’s getting support from people who say, ‘We can’t fight the election without him.
Mr. Kono appeared in this magazine in 2011 and had a conversation with Taro Yamamoto, 46, a representative of the “Reizawa Shinsengumi,” who was an actor at the time, on the theme of “denuclearization. The photo below was taken at that time. Since joining the cabinet for the first time in 2003, he had been keeping his pet theory to himself. However, he has been quietly making preparations. Journalist Tetsuo Suzuki tells us.
“Mr. Kono has had a plan for a government with a nuclear-free policy in mind for about two years. If he wins the presidential election, he could put Shigeru Ishiba, 64, the former secretary general, in the post of secretary general, and prepare a key position for Shinjiro Koizumi, 40, the environment minister, who is a comrade in the nuclear-free movement. With the influence of Finance Minister Taro Aso (80) and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (66) weakened, a generational shift within the LDP may accelerate.
However, there are many problems that he is facing as “Shukan Bunshun” reported the audio of Kono’s “power harassment” of bureaucrats. Even if the Kono administration does come to power, “it may be short-lived,” says political journalist Akiko Azumi.
“The decision to abandon the deployment of the Aegis Ashore interceptor missile system is a notable example. Mr. Kono has a tendency to make decisions on his own without following proper procedures, such as laying the groundwork with local officials and providing careful explanations. Even if a new government is formed, there are concerns about whether he will be able to build a proper relationship with Kasumigaseki. If he goes ahead with his plan to eliminate nuclear power, he will inevitably face a major backlash from within the LDP.
A generational change or a split in the LDP? The fatal presidential election is coming up on September 29.
“From the September 24, 2021 issue of FRIDAY
Photo： Takeshi Kinugawa, Akifumi Yoshida
