Digital minister Taro Kono and former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba appear ready to run in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in September — a troubling sign for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Since the latest parliamentary session ended Sunday, internal maneuvering within the LDP ahead of September’s poll has begun in earnest, with a growing number of lawmakers openly voicing their dissatisfaction with Kishida.
Kono and Ishiba — both widely considered two of the country’s most popular politicians but lacking a base within the LDP — seem to have already made up their minds.