The Liberal Democratic Party's noble faction led by former LDP General Council Chairman Wataru Takeshita is trying to strengthen unity in an effort to revive the group after a split between its House of Representatives and House of Councillors members regarding the candidate for the 2018 LDP presidential election.
Takeshita, who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, attended a regular meeting of his faction, or Heisei Kenkyu-kai, for the first time in about seven months on Thursday to call for unifying the faction.
"There is no telling what will happen in this political climate," Takeshita told reporters after the meeting. "We must keep in mind that there definitely will be a lower house election by October next year, and we need to make sure not to misjudge the situation."
Takeshita has kept his outings to a minimum during the pandemic. Regarding the timing of the faction restarting its activities, its younger members presumed the faction "may be preparing for the future political situation amid concerns about Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe's health."
Takeshita's concern comes from when most of its lower house members supported Abe in the last LDP presidential election, while many of its upper house members supported former LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba, leaving a sense of discomfort within the faction. About 25 of the younger members from both chambers of the Diet launched a study group in May to "strengthen the cohesion of both chambers," according to a mid-career member.
The current Takeshita faction is descended from the Keisei-kai, which was founded by Takeshita's older brother and former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita. In its prime, more than 100 members worked together to win the party's presidential election, resulting in the faction producing three prime ministers; Noboru Takeshita, Ryutaro Hashimoto and Keizo Obuchi. However, the group has not appointed a prime minister since the Obuchi Cabinet resigned in April 2000.
For the next LDP presidential election, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who is an acting chairman of the faction, and Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Katsunobu Kato are regarded as candidates.
"We make sure to field a candidate from our faction," a senior faction member said.
Motegi had talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso in late July, apparently to discuss the "post-Abe" era.
"Mr. Motegi is the most likely candidate because of his high policymaking ability," one mid-career faction member said, while another member said, "I don't think he'll be a strong enough candidate as a front-runner for the election."
Attention should also be focused on former Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki, who still has an influence over the Takeshita faction even after retiring from politics.
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