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Of Japan’s 30 post-war prime ministers, only three have had no political family background. Current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a strong political pedigree. His maternal grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, was Japan’s prime minister in the 1950s and his father, Shintaro Abe, was Japan’s foreign minister in the 1980s.

Three candidates likely to challenge Abe’s hold on the LDP leadership in the near future also come from political families: Shigeru Ishiba, Fumio Kishida and Taro Kono.