Two years after the death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Liberal Democratic Party conservatives — once the dominant group within the party — are going through a period of soul-searching, and whether they’ll be able to play a decisive role in the September party leadership race remains to be seen.
Marking the second anniversary of Abe’s death on Monday, lawmakers once belonging to his faction visited his grave in Yamaguchi Prefecture in three separate groups — a show of their deep-seated divisions.
The absence of a figure like Abe who was able to embody conservative ideals and marshal widespread consensus within the party has weighed heavily on conservatives, whose political fortunes took a hit due to the slush funds scandal.