【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】

According to a latest report from Japan's Kyodo News on the afternoon of October 4, just now, former Japanese Minister for Economic Security Takahashi Hayato defeated Koizumi Shinjiro and was elected as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), possibly becoming Japan's first female prime minister and creating history.

64-year-old Takahashi Hayato is one of Japan's right-wing political figures, known for her extremely conservative stance.

This is Takahashi Hayato's third attempt to challenge for the presidency of the LDP. In last year's presidential election, she lost to Ishibashi Shigeru in the final vote, but she ranked first in the member votes in the first round.

Takahashi has a rich political career, having been elected to the House of Representatives ten times, with her constituency being the second district of Nara. In 1993, she was first elected to the House of Representatives as an independent, and joined the LDP in 1996. She has served as the Minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, the head of the LDP Policy Research Council, the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the Minister for Economic Security.

Takahashi Hayato is a loyal supporter of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and a firm inheritor of the "Abe line." She is called "Abe's favorite general." Although she does not belong to any faction within the LDP, she has always considered herself the leader of the conservative faction of the LDP. She is deeply supported by grassroots members of the LDP and conservatives and right-wingers, and she claims that her idolized politician is the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known as the "Iron Lady."

Kyodo News evaluates her as: a persuasive conservative who inherits the Abe line.

Video screenshot of Takahashi Hayato's campaign speech on September 22

In this election, Takahashi and Koizumi were considered big favorites among the candidates.

In terms of policy, Takahashi proposed shifting to an active fiscal policy and increasing defense spending. She also mentioned considering expanding the framework of the ruling coalition to deal with the situation where the LDP and Komeito ruling coalition lost majority seats in both houses of the Diet.

In foreign relations, she emphasized strengthening the Japan-US alliance, while also deepening cooperation with Japan, the US, and South Korea, and Japan, the US, and the Philippines.

NHK found that in the first campaign speech on September 22, Takahashi spent the most time discussing her policy on "dealing with foreigners and foreign capital," accounting for 43%, and promised to "dedicate her life to protecting Japan's ancient traditions." In her speech, the high-frequency word was "Japan," appearing 16 times.

NHK map

To win votes, Takahashi frequently made hearsay remarks near the end of the election period, causing public controversy.

During her speech on the 22nd, Takahashi used the deer in her hometown Nara as a starting point, claiming that incidents of harassment by foreigners have occurred frequently, repeating the statements such as "foreigners kick deer" and "police do not prosecute foreigners due to lack of interpreters." She emphasized the need for stricter policies on foreigners.

According to a report from Kyodo News on the 26th, officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecution Bureau stated, "We have never heard of situations where interpreters are not arranged until the end." At the same time, Takahashi's remarks about "foreigners kicking deer" were also questioned. The director of Nara Park responded, "We patrol at least twice a day, and we have not found any violent acts."

Observer Net columnist and historian Sha Qingqing pointed out that Takahashi Hayato's campaign strategy and proposals have a clear far-right coloration, but such extreme xenophobic opportunistic speeches are counterproductive in the current political environment.

In terms of Sino-Japanese relations, Takahashi has repeatedly publicly visited the Yasukuni Shrine, denied the historical facts of the Nanjing Massacre, and promoted the "China threat theory."

During the campaign, on October 1st, Takahashi Hayato published a signed article in the American think tank "Hudson Institute," making unwarranted comments on the Taiwan issue. She claimed that if she were elected, she would have a "sincere dialogue" with Chinese leaders on the Taiwan issue, referring to the Taiwan region as "an extremely important friend of Japan," and boasted of deepening the "non-official relationship" with the Taiwan region.

In recent days, Japanese media analysis said that Takahashi gained support from conservatives because of her far-right policy proposals, but her "too far right" posture could become a disadvantage. Some media noticed that Takahashi recently focused on talking about her economic policy during press conferences and avoided excessive extreme remarks.

Associate Professor Zhang Guangxin of the Institute for Mutual Learning of Eastern and Western Civilizations at Zhejiang Gongshang University said, "Taking a tough stance on China" is a strategy that Takahashi has repeatedly used to attract conservative factions within the party. However, her right-wing position may attract other conservative and hardline LDP legislators, members, and friends, but many people with moderate positions and moderate conservatives are worried that her right-wing position will cause chaos in Japan's diplomacy and oppose her becoming the president.

On September 24, during a campaign event, when asked whether she would continue visiting the Yasukuni Shrine if she became prime minister, she said that she would consider the impact on diplomacy, and "make appropriate decisions, and it cannot become a diplomatic issue."

Regarding Sino-Japanese relations, Takahashi emphasized: "There are unresolved issues between the two countries in economic security and national defense, which will be genuinely discussed."

Sha Qingqing analyzed that Takahashi Hayato may find it difficult to replicate and continue Abe Shinzo's success, the root cause being her lack of personal charm, unique political views, and stable political base, more relying on Abe's support and reflecting Abe's political energy. In other words, Takahashi's political appeal mainly comes from the "Abe successor" label, rather than her own political philosophy, policy capabilities or personal charm.

Sha Qingqing predicted that the "Takahashi script" illustrates the phrase "when the person leaves, the tea cools down." Simply shouting the slogan of "inheriting the Abe line" is not sustainable. After losing the organizational protection of a strong faction and the halo of a leader, her far-right route mobilization ability and political market quickly shrink.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7557252607836717608/

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