Next-Generation Japan Lawmakers Cheer ‘Chaotic’ Premier Fight
- LDP rank-and-file hope battle brings fresh blood, new policies
- Younger members likely the first to fall in close election
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Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has kept a lock on power for most of the past 66 years in part because its seen as safe and predictable. Now, as the party careens through its most tumultuous leadership fight in decades, a new generation of lawmakers sees virtue in the turmoil.
“Chaos is good,” said LDP lawmaker Masaaki Taira, a 54-year-old representative from Tokyo with a model of a Gundam robot in his office. “A chaotic leadership election means the new administration won’t carry on with the previous government’s policies, and must put together its own package. It means progress.”