Japan's next leader will be different, and flawed

A pack of three leads the race to be the next prime minister, and each brings their own risks.

- Gearoid Reidy

Japan's ruling party wanted someone different. It might get more than it bargained for.

While nine lawmakers are contesting the race to become the country's next leader, the field has narrowed to just three: conservative Sanae Takaichi, the self-proclaimed heir to Abenomics; political scion Shinjiro Koizumi, dashing but inexperienced; and popular maverick Shigeru Ishiba, making his fifth and final bid for power.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) could not have asked for more in their choices for an alternative to the outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as well as a fresh face to front the next election campaign.

Each of the three can claim to represent a break with the past. Ms Takaichi would be the first female prime minister. Mr Koizumi, at just 43, would represent a generational shift. And the selection of Mr Ishiba would show acceptance of an outsider for much of his career.

But in ways not true of a Japanese leader in years, each carries serious risks. Disregard those who say the choice is unimportant so long as the LDP stays in power: The prime minister might not have the power of a US president, but from the late Mr Shinzo Abe's radical monetary easing to Mr Kishida's embrace of the US alliance, it is undeniable that the premier can shift the LDP in hugely significant ways.