Japan's Outspoken, U.S.-Educated Vaccine Minister Wants To Be The Next Prime Minister
Taro Kono is seen as a political maverick with liberal views on social policy. He is popular with the public, but his own party's power brokers may hesitate to make him the leader next week.
SEOUL — The race to become Japan's next leader looks like a tossup. In the nearly half-century that Tokyo-based journalist Hiroshi Izumi has been covering party politics and elections, "This is the first time that we cannot predict the result until the ballot box will be opened," he says.
The ballot box he's talking about is for choosing the country's next prime minister next week. The Liberal Democratic Party has been in power for all but two short periods since its inception in 1955, and is holding its leadership election on Sept. 29. Whoever emerges as its leader will effectively become the next prime minister. General elections will follow in November.
