The LDP's campaign website includes the "manifestos" for each of the candidates. Here's a brief guide.
1) Noda Seiko (@noda_seiko93)
Slogan: Politics that can be understood by anyone
She's less a moderate than an outright liberal, particularly in the LDP. Her statement is focused on fostering a "paradigm shift" that accommodates a more diverse society. …in.jp-east-2.storage.api.nifcloud.com/sousai21/pdf/n…
Her platform is to "trust the experts" on Covid-19; realize child-centered politics; fairness towards women, the elderly, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ (allow separate surnames); endorses decarbonization, focuses on renewables but nothing about nuclear.
I'm starting a thread for stray thoughts about the #自民党総裁選.
Kono's popularity and quirky communication style mask the extent to which he's actually quite similar to Suga. Very good with the details of policy, less good at the "vision thing." This was one of the striking things about his book.
The share of the electorate that says they will vote for the LDP in the general election rose ten points, to 53% (!). In case there were any doubt about Suga's impact down ballot...
The question is how the LDP's choice affects that number going forward. But the window of opportunity for the opposition is closing.
Some other data points from the Nikkei poll:
-72% say that Suga's decision to exit was proper (which is actually lower than the 88% who approved of Abe's decision last year)