Liberal Democratic Party president hopeful Fumio Kishida plans to improve transparency in the ruling party and tackle the issue of "politics and money" should he be elected and effectively become the next prime minister, he revealed Tuesday in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The former LDP Policy Research Council chairperson said he intends to establish a "governance code" as a guideline for making party operations more transparent.
The governance code would spell out fundamental policies for organizational operations and the limits of executive authority. It has been adopted by a number of companies and sports organizations. "The LDP could have a governance code as well," Kishida said, revealing his plan to set up an expert panel to formulate the code.
Kishida has taken a stance that the party should thoroughly explain the flow of the 150 million yen that LDP headquarters provided to the camp of Anri Kawai, who left the party before being found guilty of vote-buying in connection with the 2019 House of Councillors election. It seems his aim is to clarify the party's accountability through a governance code.
Kishida also expressed a strong desire to enact constitutional reform, saying, "I will make efforts to revise the Constitution during [my] presidential term."
In regard to the party's four-point revision plan, which includes clarifying the legal grounds for the Self-Defense Forces and adding clauses for declaring a state of emergency, Kishida said he would prioritize items that would be easier for coalition partner Komeito and other parties to agree on "as a realistic approach."
Prior to the interview, Kishida spoke with a group of reporters about possibly meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in order to resolve the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea. "A direct meeting is an important option," Kishida said.
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