The next LDP leader, and likely prime minister, faces the challenge of restoring public trust by offering tangible economic support without undermining fiscal discipline. WHAT ARE CONTENDERS’ VIEWS ON CONSUMPTION TAX CUTS? With the new LDP leader widely expected to seek a coalition with a major opposition group to regain a parliamentary majority, some concessions on fiscal expansion, advocated by most opposition parties, appear inevitable. Rather than backing consumption tax cuts, the five leadership contenders have pledged to abolish a provisional gasoline tax, a move already agreed upon between the ruling coalition and major opposition parties. Details on how to fund the proposed economic measures remain scarce in the leadership race debate.