Today’s official resignation of Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe ended weeks of speculation following a number of hospital visits over the past month (…) The two front runners for Prime Minister are probably Shigeru Ishiba (photo) and Fumio Kishida. While neither would be likely be politically revolutionary, Ishiba has been more critical of Abe in the past and was recently quoted saying: “We need to rethink everything about Japan… Stocks are not the whole economy. We need to change the system where all wealth accumulates with stockholders and people who manage companies.” Given his more populist stance it is unsurprising that he is popular, regularly topping public polls for the preferred next PM. Kishida by contrast has been moulded and promoted by Abe himself, and never will the cliché above be more true than if he is chosen to take over from his political mentor.