According to the Nikkei spot poll [conducted on Oct. 2–3], some 31% of respondents said Shinjiro Koizumi would be suitable to serve as the next prime minister, giving him the top ranking. Next was former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba at 21%. Ishiba ran against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the September LDP presidential election. LDP Policy Research Council Chairperson Fumio Kishida, who has shown interest in following Abe as premier, was fourth at 6%. In the poll, the question was prefaced with “Prime Minister Abe’s term as LDP president is through the end of September 2021.” Some 9% of pollees said that Prime Minister Abe would be appropriate to serve again, giving him the third-place ranking.

[Polling methodology: The spot poll was conducted on Oct. 2–3 by Nikkei Research Inc. via random-digit dialing (RDD) to both landlines and mobile phones. It drew 943 responses from men and women aged 18 and older nationwide, for a response rate of 42.9%.]