Former Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party, Jun'ichi Nikai, criticized the active movements of "post-Kishida" candidates aiming for the September leadership election. In Wakayama City, he told reporters, "There's still a lot of time until the leadership election. The start of the leadership election is too early."

Nikai predicted that the number of candidates would be narrowed down as the leadership election approached, but added, "I hope that a good person will be elected."

Recently, within Japan, attention has been focused on the fate of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida following the results of the by-elections for three Lower House constituencies held on April 28th. This by-election holds significant importance for the continuation of Kishida's administration, but the Liberal Democratic Party only fielded its own candidates for one of the three districts, Shimane Prefecture District 1.

Amidst this, the disciplinary results announced on April 4th regarding the Liberal Democratic Party's political funds party issue have been met with criticism from the public. In particular, there have been criticisms that the disciplinary levels for the Abe faction, led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, are somewhat unbalanced. Former Education Minister Tatsushi Shionya, the leader of the Abe faction, and former Secretary-General of the House of Councillors, Hironao Seko, who represented the House of Councillors, received "expulsion recommendations." Former Education Minister Hirofumi Fumura and former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura received the next heaviest punishment of "suspension of membership for one year." Former chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee, Takeshi Takagi, who served as secretary-general until the Abe faction's dissolution, received a "suspension of membership for six months." On the other hand, former Secretary-General Nikai, like Prime Minister Kishida, whose accounting manager for his own faction was indicted, did not receive any disciplinary action.

Regarding these disciplinary results, some have criticized them as "insufficient to reflect the public's anger." In particular, it is difficult to understand why there is a difference in the disciplinary levels for the four individuals (Shionya, Fumura, Nishimura, and Seko) who attended the meeting that decided to continue the rebate issue after former Prime Minister Abe announced its abolition, related to the rebate issue, for which former Prime Minister Abe had announced its abolition, within the Abe faction.

Currently, Prime Minister Kishida is scheduled to visit the United States on April 10th for a state visit, where he will hold talks with President Joe Biden. While this appears to be an attempt to appeal to the public as "Kishida of diplomacy," it remains uncertain if this will be a sufficient appeal.

Currently, Prime Minister Kishida is aiming for re-election in the September leadership election, but considering the current circumstances, his chances of re-election seem unclear. While Prime Minister Kishida emphasizes the importance of "listening power," within the party, the prevailing assessment is that he "does not have ears to listen."

In this situation, there is also speculation that Prime Minister Kishida might choose an early dissolution of the Diet.

On the other hand, along with the fate of Prime Minister Kishida, movements surrounding "post-Kishida" are also becoming active. The dominant faction, led by Vice-President Taro Aso and Secretary-General Mitsuru Moigi, and the non-mainstream faction, led by former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, are engaging in a power struggle.

Currently, Japanese politics are more focused on "power struggles" rather than "policy debates." Citizens feel disappointed with this political reality and express concerns that even if a new political leader emerges, they will not be significantly different from existing politicians.