The factional structure of the ruling party in Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party, is being disrupted and reorganized. According to Japanese media reports, the faction led by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, known as the 'Kishida Faction', officially dissolved on Monday and submitted a dissolution application for the political group on Tuesday.

The 'Kishida Faction' is the oldest faction among the six factions of the Liberal Democratic Party, but it is also the second faction to submit a dissolution application within the party. This outcome was decided earlier this year, when Fumio Kishida resigned as the head of the Kishida faction due to a political funding scandal and promised to dissolve the faction.

In November of last year, it was revealed that members of the Liberal Democratic Party had secretly used approximately 30 million yen of unregistered political funds between 2018 and 2020, causing a major embarrassment for the party in Japan. Except for the Asou faction, among the other five factions of the party - Kishida faction, Abe faction, Noda faction, Moriyama faction, and Motegi faction - all have expressed their intention to dissolve their factions and take responsibility.

However, so far, only the Moriyama faction and the Kishida faction have submitted dissolution applications.

What are factions?

The Kishida faction, also known as the Hirochi-kai, is a faction established by former Japanese Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda in 1957 and is the oldest faction in the Liberal Democratic Party. Fumio Kishida became the head of the Kishida faction in 2012 and is the fifth Japanese Prime Minister from this faction.

The largest faction in the Liberal Democratic Party is the Abe faction. Since 2000, four out of seven Prime Ministers from the Liberal Democratic Party have come from the Abe faction. Even former Prime Ministers Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida, who did not come from any faction, had to be cautious of the Abe faction after winning the position of Prime Minister.

In fact, the Abe faction has gained great power within the LDP and can almost determine the candidate for prime minister. It also has substantial appointment and dismissal powers over cabinet ministers and party executives, earning him the reputation of a "kingmaker."

The six factions within the LDP are divided and cooperate with each other, forming the party's political ecology.

According to analysis, the factions have five functions, including endorsing candidates in the LDP presidential election, obtaining political money in the name of the factions, promoting faction members to government or party positions, assisting with campaigns, and facilitating internal party operations and communication with the National Diet.

Factions used to be a strategy for the LDP leader to improve party control efficiency, but over time, this mechanism has become a battleground for factional struggles to determine leadership. The effectiveness of this mechanism has been weakened as different factions try to influence high-level elections based on their number of members.

In addition, the complex network of factions has provided a channel for improper financial gain for party members. Power being concentrated in specific groups has become a breeding ground for corruption. The revelation of political funds within the LDP last year was a major outbreak of the problems within the factional system.

Treating the symptoms but not the root cause.

Although Fumio Kishida dissolved the Kishida faction as promised, the Japanese political circle and the public view this as a superficial move that does not address the real issue. Analysts point out that this dissolution is a gesture made before the LDP presidential election to demonstrate Kishida's determination to break free from factional constraints.

The LDP presidential election is expected to be announced on the 12th of this month and voting will begin on the 27th. Currently, more than ten LDP members have announced their intention to participate in the election, which is a departure from the tradition of having no more than five candidates.

The breakthrough in numbers is also related to the slogan of the Liberal Democratic Party to break the factionalism this year. Previously, the presidential election often turned into a power struggle between factions, and the factions would also have a seniority system. As a result, the presidents of the Liberal Democratic Party were almost always produced among senior politicians, with an average age of over 60.

But this time, two young dark horses have emerged among the candidates. One is Koizumi Shinjiro, the son of former Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro, and the other is former Minister of Economic Security Koizumi Takanori. Both of them are under 50 years old. The former is quite popular in Japanese polls and is highly likely to win in the end.

However, the opposition party in Japan still warns that the dissolution of factions within the Liberal Democratic Party is superficial and its foundation is difficult to shake. In history, the Liberal Democratic Party has repeatedly claimed to solve the faction problem, but as long as it approaches the presidential election, the factions will always resurrect.

Analysts point out that this is because the Liberal Democratic Party does not have a mechanism that can fully replace the function of factions, and the current disintegration of factions is only the beginning of a new division.

Some media outlets also claim that after the dissolution of factions within the Liberal Democratic Party, the Aso faction with more than 50 members, as well as the faction led by Suga Yoshihide and the faction of Kishida Fumio that remains intact, have essentially formed a new "kingmaker" within the party.

Editor/ping