Japan’s political ‘princess’ could be first female PM
5 Oct 2014 5:08 AM IST
In Tokyo’s male-dominated corridors of power, where seniority still matters, Obuchi’s gender and youth would in the past have made her a long-shot - at best - to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
But a shortage of popular male rivals and lingering doubts over the success of “Abenomics” mean the 40-year-old daughter of a prime minister is increasingly seen as a contender when her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) goes shopping for a new leader.
For now, Abe’s support rates are respectable at more than 50 percent, but his popularity depends mostly on whether he can keep promises to fix Japan’s long-stagnant economy.
Even if Abe’s direct successor turns out to be a man, Obuchi - dubbed the “next premier but one” by some Japanese media - is clearly on a career path that could take her to the top job.
“Her faction wants to push her forward. They want to nurture her as a future leader,” said Nihon University professor Tomoaki Iwai. “Trade and industry minister is an important post, so you could say she has climbed a step up the ladder toward premier.”
One of the first tests of Obuchi’s skills as minister is the tricky task of selling an unpopular policy of restarting nuclear reactors to a public wary about safety after the 2011 Fukushima crisis.
Abe appears to be hoping that the popular Obuchi’s soft-spoken ways and status as the mother of two boys, aged seven and four, will soften the blow for the many Japanese voters, women especially, who oppose restarts.
But a shortage of popular male rivals and lingering doubts over the success of “Abenomics” mean the 40-year-old daughter of a prime minister is increasingly seen as a contender when her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) goes shopping for a new leader.
For now, Abe’s support rates are respectable at more than 50 percent, but his popularity depends mostly on whether he can keep promises to fix Japan’s long-stagnant economy.
Even if Abe’s direct successor turns out to be a man, Obuchi - dubbed the “next premier but one” by some Japanese media - is clearly on a career path that could take her to the top job.
“Her faction wants to push her forward. They want to nurture her as a future leader,” said Nihon University professor Tomoaki Iwai. “Trade and industry minister is an important post, so you could say she has climbed a step up the ladder toward premier.”
One of the first tests of Obuchi’s skills as minister is the tricky task of selling an unpopular policy of restarting nuclear reactors to a public wary about safety after the 2011 Fukushima crisis.
Abe appears to be hoping that the popular Obuchi’s soft-spoken ways and status as the mother of two boys, aged seven and four, will soften the blow for the many Japanese voters, women especially, who oppose restarts.
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