On September 2, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced his intention to run for president of the Liberal Democratic Party. His goal is to find Shinzo Abe’s successor. This trend has attracted the attention of many people.

Two people have previously announced their candidacy, and now the electoral situation is clearly visible. Yoshihide Suga is expected to become the next prime minister by simplifying voting procedures. This matter involves many important points and key elements worthy of attention.

Yoshihide Suga is 71 years old. Since the end of 2012, he has been with Abe for nearly eight years and has always been at the center of the decision-making circle.

He has considerable influence within the Liberal Democratic Party.

He particularly emphasized the need to strictly abide by and deepen Abe's policies, and at the same time made it clear that he would bravely meet a series of important challenges including amending the constitution, promoting economic recovery, and coping with population decline and aging.

This shows that he has political aspirations and plans. If he wins the election, he may continue and promote relevant matters based on the existing policies of the Abe administration.

By observing his long-term experience in assisting Abe, we can see that he may have inherited his governance philosophy and administrative style. Moreover, he has demonstrated his unique insights and preparations in promoting policies.

Within the Liberal Democratic Party, he successfully attracted the support of five factions, which significantly enhanced his competitiveness in this election. This shows that some members of the party have confidence in him and are willing to provide assistance to him. It can be seen from this that he has a certain network base and influence within the party.

Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba are Suga’s main competitors.

Fumio Kishida was the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his political foundation mainly came from the 47 members of Congress within the Kishida faction. But it is not easy to win the support of MPs from other factions. It all depends on how future elections go, what's often called "momentum."

Shigeru Ishiba has served as Minister of Defense. Within the Liberal Democratic Party, he is a core member of the anti-Abe faction. He has a high reputation among the grassroots members of the Liberal Democratic Party and the general public.

The new voting rules were unfavorable to Ishiba. The rules no longer value the votes of grassroots party members and their supporters, but instead focus on the votes of the party's MPs and 141 representatives across the country. The change in voting patterns is a blow to Ishiba, whose support among local party members was already solid.

The Liberal Democratic Party decided to simplify the voting process on September 1.

The Liberal Democratic Party presidential election is divided into two steps, with a total of 788 votes. Half of these votes are cast by members of Congress, while the other half are cast by grassroots party members and their supporters. To become president, a candidate needs to win more than half of the votes cast.

No grassroots party members and their supporters participated in voting in this election. Voting qualifications were limited to party members of Congress and 141 national representatives, who jointly participated in the election of the new party president.

The Liberal Democratic Party's party committee said it was because large-scale voting by party members and supporters took too long.

At the same time, it is also to avoid a power vacuum during the prevention and control of the new crown epidemic.

As the Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party, Toshihiro Nikai stressed that there should be no interruption or pause in political activities. Taking into account the Prime Minister's health condition, Abe announced that he would resign on August 28. In order to elect a new prime minister as soon as possible, it has become particularly urgent to simplify the voting process.

The election process of the Liberal Democratic Party is tight.

The election campaign will be launched on September 8, and voting will be held on September 14. The entire election cycle is very short.

The purpose of this arrangement is to quickly determine the party's top leadership, because the Liberal Democratic Party occupies a central position in Japan's political stage. The Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party are jointly in power and have an absolute advantage in the Diet, and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party will become the prime minister.

The Japanese Parliament held a special meeting on the 16th, at which the newly elected chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party will be proposed to serve as prime minister. This move indicates that the candidate for Japan's new prime minister will soon be announced, and then he will begin to deal with matters related to governance.

The election process has become simplified and time is very tight. Candidates need to quickly advance their campaign affairs within a limited time. This undoubtedly poses a greater test to their strategy formulation and resource allocation capabilities.

If Yoshihide Suga is elected as Prime Minister of Japan, judging from the political program he has proposed, he plans to continue to implement Abe's policies in various fields. He particularly emphasized the need to continue to adhere to Abe's policies, especially in many important areas.

Abe is working hard to amend the constitution, hoping to make a breakthrough. Yoshihide Suga also expressed concern about this trend. This matter is related to major adjustments in Japan's political system and the functions of the Self-Defense Forces.

As the economy gradually recovers, Abe launched a series of economic policies during his administration. Today, the world is deeply affected by the epidemic, and Japan is no exception. Yoshihide Suga may inherit some of the effective strategies from the Abe era and explore new paths to economic recovery.

For example, fiscal policy, monetary policy, industrial policy, etc. are used to stimulate economic development.

Japan is facing demographic pressure, especially the problem of low birthrate and aging population. In response to this situation, Yoshihide Suga proposed a series of proactive measures. He plans to explore innovative solutions in promoting childbirth, improving the pension system and promoting the transformation of the labor force structure.

If Fumio Kishida or Shigeru Ishiba are elected, their policy directions may be different.

Fumio Kishida may make some changes in foreign policy. Especially in reshaping Japan's international image, he may try to introduce some new reform measures.

If Shigeru Ishiba is elected, he may pay more attention to the balance of political power within the party, while also working hard to properly handle the needs of grassroots members of the Liberal Democratic Party.

This election is not only related to the changes in power within the Liberal Democratic Party, but also has a profound and significant impact on many affairs in Japan and abroad.

Under the current domestic situation, after the new prime minister takes office, his coming to power will directly affect Japan's specific measures to deal with the subsequent impact of the epidemic.

For example, issues such as employment recovery and social livelihood security during the epidemic.

This will have a profound impact on Japan's strategic planning, especially in dealing with population decline, aging and adjusting the economic structure.

On the international stage, Japan's interactions with other countries, especially its interactions with allies, and its geopolitical layout will be affected to a certain extent.

The foreign policy direction of the new prime minister may change the current pattern of international relations.

Under the leadership of the new prime minister, relations between Japan and the United States are expected to undergo some adjustments. At the same time, the foreign policies of neighboring countries will also undergo certain changes.

Finally, I would like to ask everyone to help think about a question: Based on the performance of these candidates, which one do you think will be most beneficial to promoting Japan's future progress if elected as prime minister?