Photo/Illutration Ryu Shionoya, acting head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party faction once led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaks at a faction meeting on July 6. (Koichi Ueda)

A year after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated, the ruling party faction that he once led is nowhere near choosing a successor.

A meeting of officials of the faction, the largest in the Liberal Democratic Party, was held on July 6, and two conflicting courses emerged during the talks.

“Let us hold serious discussions after the first anniversary (of Abe’s death) is over,” Ryu Shionoya, the acting faction head, said. “I believe we should choose one leader of the faction.”

Abe was gunned down in Nara city while giving a campaign speech on July 8, 2022. And although the faction now has 100 members, it remains rudderless.

Hakubun Shimomura, who has served as a co-leader of the faction, gave his consent for Shionoya’s proposal.

But Hiroshige Seko, secretary-general of the LDP’s Upper House caucus, immediately voiced his opposition to Shionoya’s suggestion.

Seko said faction management should be left up to a group of five lawmakers who all hold important posts--Seko; Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno; Koichi Hagiuda, the LDP policy chief; Tsuyoshi Takagi, the chairman of the LDP’s Diet Affairs Committee; and Yasutoshi Nishimura, the economy minister.

Seko’s proposal, in effect, was a call for Shionoya and Shimomura to leave the stage of faction leadership.

Shimomura then said he would never allow the group of five to be given carte blanche over faction matters.

No conclusion was reached in the 40-minute meeting, although another meeting was called for next week to further discuss the matter.

Both sides realize a decision must be made because faction unity is needed to negotiate with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as he begins making moves toward reshuffling his Cabinet and the LDP executive lineup.

But even the group of five can’t agree about future faction management since there has been no discussions on how the five would divide up responsibilities. It has also been suggested that a group leadership structure should not be a permanent one.

A veteran LDP lawmaker of another faction smirked at the inconclusive meeting, saying those members would likely set other deadlines for choosing a new leadership structure, such as in time for the next Lower House election or by Abe’s third memorial year.

“But they will still be unable to decide, and the faction will likely break up,” the lawmaker said.

(This article was written by Kohei Morioka and Yoshitaka Isobe.)

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