Senior LDP official points to Abe-era lessons for Takaichi

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is facing fresh doubts over whether she can maintain control of her governing agenda, with one of the late Shinzo Abe’s closest allies saying her administration lacks the discipline that characterized her political mentor’s approach. 

Although Takaichi secured the enactment of all 64 government-sponsored bills during the last parliamentary session, her administration struggled to manage the political process, contributing to weeks of deadlock and mounting grievances from both outside and within her ruling Liberal Democratic Party. 

Koichi Hagiuda, an LDP executive who served as deputy chief cabinet secretary under Abe, attributes the difficulty partly to shortcomings in coordination.