Conservative heavyweights join forces in LDP panel on Indo-Pacific
A revamp of a quiescent Liberal Democratic Party task force on Japan's Indo-Pacific strategy on Wednesday served as a golden opportunity to bring together some of the conservative voices most critical of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's conduct.
The task force will provide an opportunity for lawmakers to deepen their understanding of Japan's diplomatic strategy and its role in the region, former Prime Minister Taro Aso, who serves as the head of the panel, said in initial remarks.
'The environment around us has changed dramatically from a time of peace to a time of seeming emergency,' said Aso, currently serving as a chief adviser of the LDP.
'Amid all the changes we are witnessing in the world, I believe Japan needs to have a grand strategy indicating what it must do in the future,' he continued.
The panel will act as a transverse framework dedicated to Japan's 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' strategy, which has become the grand design behind Japan's diplomatic posture since the administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
On Wednesday, former national security adviser Takeo Akiba, who's currently serving as a senior adviser to the Ishiba Cabinet, provided an outlook on the origin of the framework.
Sitting close to Aso was former economic security minister, Sanae Takaichi, the party's policy chief back when the panel was established in 2021. Takaichi, who embodies the hopes of the LDP's conservative wing, was assigned a senior role on the panel.
Liberal Democratic Party chief adviser Taro Aso speaks at a party panel for a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" on Wednesday. |
GABRIELE NINIVAGGI
Takaichi received Aso's backing in the runoff vote of last September's presidential election, which she lost to Ishiba.
At a time of low approval ratings for the government and falling clout for the party's factions, the leadership lineup of the panel has prompted speculation it could serve as an occasion to coalesce support against the government in the upcoming months.
An LDP defeat in the July Upper House election would trigger a political crisis and could force Ishiba out.
However, at this stage, whether momentum to oust Ishiba will actually pick up in the upcoming weeks is unclear.
Though his fraught relationship with Ishiba is well known, Aso has avoided any direct criticism of the prime minister. Takaichi, however, has been among the most outspoken censurers of the administration, though the tone has been relatively calm.
'I felt let down when I heard Ishiba's remarks in parliament on Monday,' Takaichi told a YouTube channel called Toranomon News on Tuesday, criticizing Ishiba's hesitation toward implementing a consumption tax cut.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Takaichi underscored the necessity of building on the diplomatic legacy left by Abe and asserting a clear vision in the diplomatic arena.
Takayuki Kobayashi, another candidate in September's presidential election, was also included in the leadership, although he didn't attend Wednesday's meeting. He's also been a vocal critic of Ishiba.
Other attendees of the panel included former trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and former LDP policy chief Koichi Hagiuda, both leading members of the faction once led by Abe, as well as former Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi. The LDP said a total of 57 lawmakers took part in the meeting.
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