A new support group has emerged within the Liberal Democratic Party with the aim of consolidating Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s power and preventing the rise of other internal alliances that could mount a challenge against her.
Yet, while Takaichi’s new group is endorsed by LDP heavyweights who backed her in last year’s presidential race as well as those who ran against her, it’s unclear how stable it will be or whether it will remain unified if the prime minister’s popularity dips.
The group’s official name is the National Power Research Group, but will be abbreviated as JiB, in reference to the English language phrase “Japan is Back,” which Takaichi used during the October LDP presidential election.