Addressing issues that directly affect daily life and ensuring transparency in political funding should be top priorities for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), according to Japanese scholar and former diplomat Kazuhiko Togo. In an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) on Thursday, Togo, a former director-general of the Treaties Bureau at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and currently a visiting professor at Kyoto Sangyo University, emphasized that public dissatisfaction with daily life issues and political funding transparency are challenges the LDP must address to maintain stable governance. As the LDP leadership election approaches, with lawmakers set to cast their ballots on Saturday to choose a successor to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Togo also reflected on Japan's foreign policy priorities. He said he is closely watching how each of the five candidates for prime minister plans to manage the country's foreign relations -- particularly in safeguarding regional security and maintaining peace in Northeast Asia. Shotlist: Tokyo, Japan - Oct 2, 2025: FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Date Unknown 1. Various of street views; traffic; pedestrians; Tokyo, Japan - Oct 2, 2025 2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Kazuhiko Togo, former director-general of Treaties Bureau, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; visiting professor, Kyoto Sangyo University (starting with shot 1/partially overlaid with shots 3-5/ending with shots 6-7): "What the public cares about most are issues that directly affect their daily lives. From a domestic perspective, understanding what the public is dissatisfied with is a major factor. I believe that if the Liberal Democratic Party wants to maintain a stable government, it must think seriously about how to quickly improve people’s lives and ensure transparency in political funding. These two points are crucial. What I’m most concerned about is what the new prime minister, soon to take office, intends to do in terms of foreign relations, and what they are actually capable of achieving. This is the key issue I focus on when evaluating the five candidates. Japan is located in Northeast Asia, and how to prevent war in the region and maintain peace through foreign and security policies are extremely important issues." [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]; FILE: Saitama Prefecture, Japan - 2025 3. Various of consumers shopping in budget supermarket, vegetables for sale; FILE: Tokyo, Japan - July 23, 2025 4. Various of traffic, pedestrians; FILE: Tokyo, Japan - 2024 5. Various of National Diet building, Japan's national flag [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]; FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Date Unknown 6. Various of cityscape; FILE: Tokyo, Japan - 2024 7. Aerial shots of cityscape, traffic. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]