35% of LDP election hopefuls are hereditary candidates

Wednesday 22nd July, 06:25 AM JST

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smithinjapan at 09:05 AM JST - 22nd July

I meant to add that one thing that is NOT surprising is that policies introduced to not allow hereditary positions was shot down.
tkoind2 at 09:14 AM JST - 22nd July

You can blame the Japanese voter for this problem. If they would bother to care about politics then this problem would go away. Just don't vote for this kind of person.

Second problem is that not enough new young people are working to join the world of politics with an agenda to help ordinary people. Japan needs this kind of leader. But when the system only rewards blood ties, is it any wonder that the best and brightest of this country end up in the private sector and not in politics?

Wake up Japan, your problems are largely self inflicted.
roomtemperature at 09:25 AM JST - 22nd July

Prime ministers in Japan are only thinking about the wishes of their fathers who were once prime minster themselves. That's priority No.1 for them, not what's good for the country. Koizumi's father wanted to privatize Japan Post, but he didn't succeed in his term. His son, Junichiro, finished the "job" and resigned after his mission was accomplished. Abe's father is a class B ( or C ) war criminal who wanted to change article 9 and create a strong army for Japan. His son, Shinzo, already created a commission to fulfill his father's wishes. Luckily he didn't have time enough. Fukuda's father never attended a G8 summit. So his son, Yasuo, did in 2008 to keep it in the family. He resigned shortly afterwards.
jackfish at 09:50 AM JST - 22nd July

I think the root of this problem is voter apathy, and the lack of meaningful political discourse. The few voters who actually turnout to mark their ballots, make their choice based on name recognition. So we end up with voters assisting this hereditary political establishment. How are voters supposed to figure out who to vote for, when the main way to get the message out is to blare it from the loudspeakers of a van? Try finding meaningful policy information on the web...from what I've seen, it doesn't exist. Probably mostly due to the fact that the parties don't have distinct policy positions in most cases. Just a few slogans about "we want to have an XYZ society..." with zero information about how they plan to get there.
Statistician at 10:24 AM JST - 22nd July

110, or 35.1%, will rely on the established reputations and support groups of politicians in their family

Doesn't make me want to rush out and vote for them.
Altria at 10:50 AM JST - 22nd July

The LDP should breed their MPs with their token female candidates to create a new race of "super politicians".
sf2k at 12:19 PM JST - 22nd July

so then y'know.. don't vote for them. problem solved
TokyoHustla at 12:21 PM JST - 22nd July

35% of LDP election hopefuls are hereditary candidates

Good. The rich should rule.
telecasterplayer at 01:55 PM JST - 22nd July

So.. the LDP is a congenital disorder?
herefornow at 04:49 PM JST - 22nd July

Ridiculous, and the LDP has basically rigged it so it stays this way. With only a 12-day official campaign, and the only capaigning being a few posters and the sound-trucks, name recognition is about the only thing voters have to go on. These aren't real campaigns, they are just beauty contests, which the silver-spooned sons of the LDP guys stand the best chance of winning. Or, worse yet, celebrities. The election laws need a serious overhaul.
realist at 06:22 PM JST - 22nd July

The title of this article should read "35% of LDP candidates are hereditary dinosaurs" I hope they all lose their deposits and are roundly defeated as the Japanese people finally wake up from their slumbers are kick them out.
retirednavygaijin at 08:09 PM JST - 22nd July

Why would voters think the son or daughter of a politician who was crappy or corrupt while they were in office would be anything different? Besides, nowadays the term "politician" is just a politically correct (pc) word for thief or scheister to begin with. I'd rather be called scumbag than politician!
Potsu at 10:48 PM JST - 22nd July

And the masses just go along with it...and wonder why they are known as a nation of sheep !
Osakadaz at 08:22 AM JST - 23rd July

inakamono mentality on a grand scale.
stirfry at 04:36 PM JST - 23rd July

Hey, don't knock it -- the system works fine in North Korea.

good point, and japan is more like NK than it realises