Shikōkai

Shikōkai (Japanese: 志公会) is a faction led by Tarō Asō^[2] within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).^[3] Before the dissolution of other factions, it was the third-largest faction within the LDP.^[4] It was established in 2017.^[5]

It was formed by joining the "Ikōkai (former Aso faction)" led by Tarō Asō and the "Bancho Seisaku Kenkyūjo (Santō faction) led by Akiko Santō in 2017.^[6][7]

After the 2019 House of Councillors election, Santo, a member of the Aso faction, became President of the House of Councillors.^[8]

In the 2020 LDP presidential election, Shikōkai endorsed Yoshihide Suga.^[9] As a result of election, Suga was elected to the President of the Liberal Democratic Party and became the Prime Minister.

Some media reported that Jun Matsumoto, former chair of National Public Safety Commission, a member of the Shikōkai, and Aso’s ally, visited eateries including bars in the capital's upscale Ginza district separately at night in defiance of the national government's request for people to refrain from nonessential and nonurgent outings after 8 p.m. amid the coronavirus state of emergency.^[10] Following the scandal, Matsumoto left the LDP. Matsumoto then ran as an independent in the 2021 general election, but was defeated by CDP’s Go Shinohara in Kanagawa 1st.^[11]

In the 2021 LDP presidential election, Taro Kono, a member of the Aso faction, announced his candidacy.^[12] Meanwhile, Akira Amari and Shun'ichi Suzuki, Asō's brother-in-law, supported Fumio Kishida.^[13] Asō feared that the factions would split. As an Shikōkai, a faction endorsed both Kono and Kishida, and left the vote up to the individual members of the Diet to decide.^[14] As a result of the election, Kishida was elected to the President of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Kishida appointed Amari as LDP secretary general to thank Asō faction member such as Amari for his support.^[15] However, due to the fact that he was dug up for past political scandals, Amari lost his Kamagawa 13th seat in the 2021 general election shortly afterwards, losing to CDP’s Hideshi Futori. Amari won a seat in the Southern Kanto PR block and maintained his position as a member of the House of Representatives, but was forced to resign as secretary general.^[16]

In February 2022, four members of the House of Representatives, former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Tsutomu Sato, Nobuhide Minorikawa, Toshiko Abe, and Hideki Niwa, announced their withdrawal from the Aso faction. Sato was close to former PM Suga and supported Kono in the 2021 LDP presidential election. As a result, Asō faction retreated from a second faction to a third faction within the party.^[17][18] It is also reported that the reason behind Sato's departure was the return of Matsumoto Jun, who left the LDP due to the scandal.^[19]

In January 2024, as LDP faction's political funds scandal was discovered and other factions decided to dissolve, Asō faction members discussed their future actions. Many of its members insisted on survival and left the response to leader Asō. However, former Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya, who opposed the faction's survival, withdrew from the faction.^[20][21] Eventually, Shikōkai survived and became the only faction within the LDP.^[22]

As in the previous election, Taro Kono, a member of the Shikōkai, announced his candidacy in the 2024 LDP presidential election. Shikōkai member supported Kono, Yōko Kamikawa, or other candidates and Shikōkai did not endorsed any particular candidate as a faction.

After the 2026 general election, many Diet members participated in the Shikōkai and became a force with 60 members. On the other hand, when former Justice Minister Eisuke Mori became Speaker of the House of Representatives, he left the Shikōkai according to custom.^[1][23]