Some LDP Lawmakers Seek to Push Conservative Policies
Tokyo, Aug. 17 (Jiji Press)--Some lawmakers in Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, mainly those who were members of the now-defunct faction once led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, are calling for the party to advertise conservative policies more actively.
They are increasingly concerned about the situation within the LDP as the party's major setback in last month's election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, was apparently due in part to many of the rock-solid supporters turning their back on the party.
Meanwhile, some in the party are wary of an acceleration in its tilting to the right.
"The LDP, as a conservative party, was not able to appeal its policies to the public, so we lost to other parties" in the election, Shoji Nishida, an Upper House lawmaker and former member of the Abe faction, told reporters on Aug. 5 after a hearing related to the party's review of the Upper House election results.
Abe, a pivotal conservative figure in the LDP, died in July 2022.
Nishida is a senior member of an intraparty group of conservatives who back former LDP policy chief Sanae Takaichi, a key conservative politician.
During this year's ordinary parliamentary session, which ended in June, Takaichi and her colleagues opposed the proposed introduction of a selective dual surname system for married couples.
In the run-up to the Upper House election, they called for a cut in the consumption tax, despite a cautious stance shown by senior party officials.
One conservative lawmaker said the LDP is believed to have started to take a more liberal stance under former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was in office between October 2021 and October 2024.
Kishida promoted legislation for increasing understanding for sexual minorities, which was enacted in 2023. The now-defunct LDP faction led by Kishida had been known for its liberal stance for a long period.
In last year's LDP presidential election, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba did not rule out the idea of allowing Japan to have female-line emperors while sounding positive about a selective dual surname system.
This stance of Ishiba is viewed by former Abe faction members and others as betraying rock-solid LDP supporters, accelerating attempts to remove him.
Still, conservative members are not necessarily on the same page.
A midcareer LDP lawmaker said, "True conservatives aim for economic growth while maintaining fiscal discipline."
The lawmaker also called for a realistic approach toward China and South Korea, saying, "We need to get along well with the two nations because they are neighbors."
An LDP lawmaker who has served as a cabinet minister sounded positive on Japan introducing a selective dual surname system to support people in need.
The LDP was created in November 1955 through the merger of the then Liberal Party and the then Japan Democratic Party, and is set to soon mark the 70th anniversary of its launch.
The party had prominent lawmakers with a liberal stance, such as former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono.
"I thought I was a conservative, but before I knew it, I have become a liberal," a veteran LDP lawmaker who claims to be a moderate conservative said, warning the party not to go too far to the right.
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