Photo/Illutration The nine candidates running in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership contest show their slogans at the beginning of a discussion at the Japan National Press Club on Sept. 14. (Tatsuya Shimada)

The frontrunners in the race to become Japan’s next prime minister clashed over when to call a Lower House election if they win the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential poll on Sept. 27.

The exchange between Shigeru Ishiba and Shinjiro Koizumi occurred during a discussion among the nine hopefuls at the Japan National Press Club on Sept. 14.

Ishiba, 67, a former defense minister as well as LDP secretary-general, took issue with Koizumi’s plan to dissolve the Lower House for a snap election at the earliest opportunity.

The new prime minister could call an election after broad exchanges of questions and answers during plenary sessions of the two Diet chambers.

However, Ishiba said the Diet should also convene the Budget Committees, where lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties can debate specific policy issues, before calling an election.

“(The question-and-answer sessions during) the plenary sessions are basically one-way traffic,” he said. “Real debates are held at the Budget Committees.”

Diet debates with opposition parties would give the new prime minister an opportunity to address voters’ distrust of the LDP following a recent money scandal that involved some big names.

Both Ishiba and Koizumi rank high in public opinion polls as prime minister material.

Koizumi, 43, is the son of popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and a former environment minister. He has said he would dissolve the Lower House at the earliest opportunity if he became prime minister.

During the discussion, a reporter asked if debates between the ruling and opposition parties should be held at the Budget Committees so voters can make more informed decisions about who to vote for in the next Lower House election.

Koizumi said Diet debates will not be necessary because he has already discussed what he wants to do as prime minister during the campaign period for the LDP leadership race.

“Unless we seek a popular mandate soon, we will not be able to move forward with any policies,” he said.

A reporter asked Ishiba how he views Koizumi’s stance.

“It is the responsibility of the government and the new prime minister to provide the public with the materials they need to make decisions,” he said.

The timing of a Lower House election is of critical concern to LDP members in the chamber and could affect their decisions on who to vote for in the party leadership contest.

There are expectations within the party that Koizumi will call an election without holding Diet debates with opposition parties.

The seven other candidates running in the LDP leadership race are: Sanae Takaichi, minister in charge of economic security; Takayuki Kobayashi, former minister in charge of economic security; Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi; Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa; former Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato; Taro Kono, minister for digital transformation; and LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi.

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