Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is the face of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and gets the credit — or blame — from the public for its actions.
But behind Ishiba is a veteran politician with no prime ministerial ambitions who political experts say derives his influence from an ability to quietly listen to a range of different, competing voices within the LDP and then forge deals acceptable to the party as a whole.
That man is LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama.
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