In a September 2012 column, Masuzoe was critical of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's "succession of failures on both the domestic and foreign policy fronts", and was also critical of incoming LDP president Shinzō Abe, writing: "Wariness of Abe on the Korean and Chinese sides would make an improvement in relations increasingly difficult. If he shows an excessively right-wing bent when dealing with reform to the Constitution, he will no longer be able to garner support from the majority of the Japanese people." He held out hope that dissatisfaction with the DPJ and LDP would boost third parties in the 2012 general election, writing that "the dysfunction within the DPJ, and the lack of any impetus for internal reform in the LDP, is forcing the electorate to seriously consider supporting political forces outside the traditional two-party structure".