The scramble to replace weary and beaten Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began in Tokyo's political corridors today, with members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party questioning whether their salvation lies in choosing a leader who provides experience and continuity, or finding one who offers change.
They have little time to make up their minds.
Abe's sudden decision Wednesday to walk away from politics has cast the once-indomitable LDP adrift. Anxious to fill the power vacuum, the party said it would select a new leader by a vote of parliamentary members and top organizers from across the country next week, though some were seeking to push back the ballot.
The short span of the campaign seems to favor Taro Aso, 66, an Abe ally and former foreign minister who has greatly increased his clout inside the party since being appointed secretary-general, its top political job, this summer. But Aso's vulnerability lies in that very association with the short, dismal Abe era, which was remarkable mostly for its incompetence. The last year has been defined by a stream of scandals over the abuse of political funds that led to four ministerial resignations and the suicide of another Cabinet member. Abe was unable to act decisively to calm public anxiety when it was disclosed that the government had lost the records of about 50 million pension fund payments, a blunder that contributed to the public's view that Japan was being led by amateurs.
The manner of Abe's departure was consistent with his governing style: It had the appearance of a decision made in haste, if not outright panic. It reversed his vow made a day before to fight to keep his job despite the electoral thrashing his party took in recent elections that put the opposition Democratic Party of Japan in control of parliament's upper house, where it can stymie the government's agenda.
In a rambling resignation news conference, Abe was unable to clearly explain the reasons or timing for his decision to quit. The performance generated widespread scorn from all sides, with even LDP politicians accusing him of acting irresponsibly. Commentators likened his decision to a child faking illness on the day of a school exam.
Abe checked himself into a Tokyo hospital later Wednesday.
There were suggestions that the 52-year-old was emotionally spent from the strain of the job and had lost his nerve.
