Japan in 2024 Money Politics Interrupts Liberal Democratic Party Dominance, Again

The year 2024 opened and closed with the same issue dominating the agenda: how politics should be financed. It began with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio grappling with revelations that his party’s factions had misreported income from fundraising parties. In August, after struggling to enact reforms to placate public anger, he stepped down. In September, his party held a leadership election in which nine candidates engaged in debate about how best to grow the economy, secure Japan, and meet demographic challenges. On his election, new Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru immediately dissolved the Lower House. In the election held on October 27, the Liberal Democratic Party lost its majority for the first time since 2009. The possibility of non-LDP parties forming a coalition government was quickly dispensed with, paving the way for Ishiba’s re-election as prime minister in a minority government. In the ensuing Diet session, an empowered opposition continued to press the government for reform.