By Sanxuan

After failing to win over the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Komeito Party, Takahashi Hayato turned to a far-right party. For the position of Prime Minister, she really went all out.

A woman obsessed with becoming Prime Minister

It is reported that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been in talks with the far-right party "Reform Party" for three days, and it seems promising. Although both are conservative parties, when it comes to right-wing extremism, the LDP is far less extreme than the Reform Party, and there are significant differences in policy views, which is why the two have never cooperated in history.

The Reform Party has made its demands clear: apart from 12 conditions such as establishing a secondary capital, they also require two people to be appointed to the cabinet. It's worth noting that even the long-time ally of the LDP, the Komeito Party, only has one ministerial post.

According to the distribution of seats in the Japanese House of Representatives, the combined total of the LDP and Komeito is 231 seats, which is still two short of a majority. To successfully become Prime Minister, the LDP needs support from other parties, so they have turned to far-right populist fringe parties, including the N Party, "Shikishu Kaikaku Kai," and the Shinto Party.

LDP and Reform Party hold talks

How bizarre these parties are can be seen from their platforms. The leader of the Shinto Party, Kamaya Muneo, has made extreme remarks, including "elderly women cannot give birth," "supporting the Emperor's restoration of polygamy and a harem system," and "Japanese supremacy."

The N Party is closely related to cults, such as the Unification Church, and former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo lost his life due to his close relationship with the Unification Church.

In previous elections, the N Party even allowed supporters to use posters of sex workers to attract votes, an operation without any limits, which even caused the Tokyo Metropolitan Police to issue an order prohibiting the N Party from removing indecent posters.

Although the LDP has a poor reputation abroad, it has remained in power for decades in Japan, and its foundation is very deep. Now, it has even resorted to courting far-right fringe parties, which is truly shocking.

Takahashi Hayato with the leader of the Shinto Party, Kamaya Muneo

The Secretary-General of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Higashino Katsuharu, bluntly stated that Takahashi Hayato is now using any means necessary to gather numbers. Is this Prime Minister position that important to her?

For Takahashi, yes. She jokingly called herself a pitiful woman who couldn't become Prime Minister, but everyone didn't believe in her, yet she was the most determined. She has vowed to become Prime Minister at all costs.

Renowned Japanese political scholar Yamaguchi Jiro strongly criticized that under Takahashi Hayato's leadership, the LDP has descended to no limits, and if the senior members of the party were alive, they would surely be angry. He hopes that those LDP members with conscience will stand up and form a relatively moderate conservative new party.

Yamaguchi further pointed out that if the LDP, Reform Party, and N Party formed a coalition government, it would be the worst combination in Japanese history. He has already given them a name, calling it the "Trash Heap Coalition Government."

Regretting forcing Ishibashi to resign?

The most dissatisfied are the business circles. Japanese business leaders like Kobayashi Ken expressed pessimism about the future of the LDP-Reform Party alliance. He said that the key to forming a coalition government is having compatible policy ideas; with a clear goal, you know what to do after taking office.

But the current situation is that the LDP and the Reform Party just want to gather enough numbers to take power first, and the rest can be put aside. This power struggle ultimately harms Japan's national interests. It must be said that Takahashi Hayato's desire for power is astonishing.

Indeed, as Takahashi Hayato herself said, she is determined to become Prime Minister. As for what will happen after taking office, we'll just have to wait and see.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7562013823687819816/

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