Nine candidates vie to become Japan’s next prime minister

On September 27, the LDP presidential election will be held to decide who will succeed Fumio Kishida as Japan’s next prime minister. A record number of nine candidates are in the running. As the 15-day campaign begins today to determine who will win the most votes, we wanted to take a closer look at the candidates.

Shinjiro Koizumi, 43 years old

Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and brother of famous actor Kotaro Koizumi, is the focal point of this election. The former environment minister, who has the support of former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, has expressed his desire to break with Japan’s outdated politics. “At a time when Japan is in crisis, we have lost the public’s trust,” he said. Comment “The problem of political funding is exactly the same as in the old LDP,” Koizumi said at a recent news conference.

Shigeru Ishiba, 67

Shigeru Ishiba is one of the early favorites and is running for his fifth term as party leader. Last month, the former defense minister Kyodo News Opinion polls showed that he was chosen as the most suitable candidate to succeed Kishida as prime minister with 25.3% of the votes.Group control of otaku” (Military Geek), Shigeru Ishiba Express He hopes to “build an Asian version of NATO” and make the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement more equal.

Taro Kono, 61

Taro Kono, the current digital transformation minister, is an internet celebrity with more than 2.5 million followers on X (nearly 80,000 on the English homepage). He is known for being a maverick, and his outspoken views have put him at odds with some of the party’s conservative elders in the past. He has publicly supported same-sex marriage, Married couples are allowed to use different surnames. In 2021, he lost to Kishida in the runoff.

Sanae Takaichi, 63 years old

Current economic security minister Sanae Takaichi is the most hawkish of the nine candidates and often uses Margaret Thatcher as a role model. She is keen to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution as soon as possible and opposes same-sex marriage and dual surnames after marriage. At a press conference on Monday, she said she would prioritize economic growth. In the last LDP presidential election, Sanae Takaichi was eliminated in the first round of voting.

Toshimitsu Motegi, 68

Motegi, who was described by Donald Trump as “too tough” when he was Japan’s representative for the US-Japan trade agreement, was appointed by Kishida as LDP secretary-general after the 2021 election. However, the relationship between the two has long been seen as strained, and it deteriorated further after the secret funding scandal. Motegi has never concealed his ambition to lead the LDP. Some in Kishida’s circle believe he has betrayed the prime minister.

Kobayashi Takayuki, 49

The first official candidate to run is Kobayashi Takayuki, a Harvard University graduate who served as economic security minister in the Kishida cabinet from 2021 to 2022. When he announced his candidacy on August 19, he said: “The LDP will be reborn.” The 49-year-old politician is relatively popular among young party members who want to reshape the LDP’s image. Kobayashi, who calls himself a conservative, supports Takaichi in the 2021 general election.

Yoko Kamikawa, 71

A potential dark horse, Kamikawa took up the post of foreign minister in September last year. In January, she made a surprise visit to Kiev and was forced to hide in an underground bomb shelter after a Russian missile attack. She served as justice minister from September 2020 to October 2021, during which time she ordered the execution of 16 people. Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Taro Aso described her as a “rising star” in the party, but also made disparaging remarks about her appearance.

Katsunobu Kato, 68

Katsunobu Kato, who served as LDP chief cabinet secretary from 2020 to 2021, is seen as one of the outsiders. He announced his intention to run on Tuesday, becoming the eighth candidate to run. At a news conference, he spoke about the secret fund scandal and said he understood the “anger of dissatisfied people.” Kato laid out his plan to double revenue while reducing the costs of school lunches, child care and childbirth to zero.

Lin Jizheng, 63 years old

Hayashi, who will serve as foreign minister from November 2021 to September 2023, was appointed LDP chief cabinet secretary last December after Matsuno resigned over a secret funding scandal. Next year, he will celebrate his 30th anniversary as a lawmaker and hopes to use his “experience and achievements for the benefit of the country.” Hayashi has proposed setting up a new independent agency to oversee campaign funding.

Related articles