Japan's next leader will continue improving military ties abroad and focus on curbing cost-of-living challenges at home, but if he or she is replaced quickly after taking office, the rapid turnover would risk reducing Tokyo's preparedness for regional conflicts. On Sept. 27, lawmakers from and members of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party will go to the polls to decide the next party president and, given the LDP's coalition majority in the parliament, Japan's next prime minister. This election is regularly scheduled -- occurring once every three years -- but it also follows an LDP slush fund scandal that arose in November 2023. Since then, public support for current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the LDP has tanked, driving Kishida to announce on Aug. 14 that he would not seek a new term as party president. With a general election fast approaching as well -- due by October 2025 for the...
