Statement by Takeshi Niinami, Chairperson of Keizai Doyukai on Result of Presidential Election of Ruling Liberal Democratic Party

September 27, 2024

Takeshi Niinami
Chairperson, Keizai Doyukai

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1. Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has elected today Mr. Shigeru Ishiba--a member of the House of Representatives--as its new president. With Japan's economy standing at a major crossroads, we hope that President Ishiba will forge ahead with solutions for mounting crucial issues inside and outside Japan, such as pursuit of regional revitalization that is a foundation of growth across Japan and increase of potential growth rate through private sector initiatives. We are confident that his leadership and policymaking skills, earned from his extensive political experience as a cabinet minister and LDP executive, will help in this regard.
2. Above all, we request President Ishiba to demonstrate his leadership and achieve tangible results in the fields of the new economic/fiscal policies as the economy shifts from deflation to inflation, labor market and social security system reforms that fit the era of Reiwa (2019-), economic security in response to higher geopolitical risks, and stable energy supply with an eye to further digitalization. Meanwhile, as there is a pressing need for thorough evidence-based policymaking (EBPM), the new administration must start with stringent assessments of the efficacy of the past fiscal spending with a focus on nursing care, child rearing, and defense. Clearly effective policymaking and efforts to lessen the burden on the working-age generation must follow through.
3. The presidential election should have become a precious opportunity to restore confidence in politics among the party members and the public. It, however, failed to eliminate the nonconfidence in the LDP that caused the political funding scandal. We request President Ishiba to demonstrate his leadership to settle the money dispute in politics, including how to improve the Political Funds Control Act. Furthermore, we also hope that he will pave the way for a swift and effective reform through bipartisan debates, aiming at enacting a political party act and fullfledged political reforms such as Diet reform that leads to better legislative deliberations.

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