TOKYO, Sept 12 (Askume) – Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday announced nine candidates to replace Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a leadership election scheduled for Sept. 27.
Here is the list of top contenders based on the surveys.
Shigeru Ishiba, 67 years old
The former defense minister is making his fifth and final bid to lead the party that has ruled Japan for most of the past seven decades.
Ishiba leads in most polls, with 28% of respondents in a Sept. 9 NHK poll backing him as Kishida’s successor.
He is the only candidate to call for a shift from nuclear power to renewable energy sources such as geothermal energy, and to support legislation allowing a female king, an idea opposed by several Liberal Democratic Party MPs.
His economic strategy includes raising wages to combat rising prices and possibly exempting some items from Japan’s 10% sales tax to help low-income citizens.
He has been a supporter of the Bank of Japan’s policy of gradually raising interest rates, but said it was unclear whether now was the right time to raise interest rates.
He also proposed building shelters for military personnel and establishing a disaster management agency to improve conditions so that the aging Japan would have enough soldiers to defend itself.
The son of a former prefectural governor and cabinet minister, he is a rare Christian in a country where Buddhism and Shinto are dominant. He is best known for his model ships and airplanes.
Shinjiro Koizumi, 43 years old
The youngest candidate, Junichiro Koizumi, is the son of a former prime minister and heir to a political dynasty that has ruled Japan for more than a century.
He has portrayed himself as a reformer who can restore public confidence in a scandal-plagued party. If elected, he would become Japan’s youngest prime minister in 80 years.
Supported by young voters and female voters in media surveys, he has promised to hold a general election and allow Japanese voters to cast their ballots before November’s US presidential election.
Koizumi has promised to accelerate Kishida’s policies to promote dynamic economic growth that can adapt to technological changes, including the rise of artificial intelligence.
The Columbia University-educated lawmaker proposed opening up Japan’s regulated taxi market to ride-sharing and promised financial aid to pensioners and low-income families. He said he would pressure small and medium-sized businesses to raise wages and make it easier for companies to lay off workers.
He supports legislation that would allow women to keep their own names and wants to allow a female emperor, despite opposition from many Liberal Democratic lawmakers. He also supported changes to Japan’s postwar constitution.
Koizumi is fond of surfing. Her husband is a French-Japanese TV personality. One of her brothers, Kotaro Koizumi, is a famous Japanese actor.
Smart kid, 63
Takaichi is the leader of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party and the current Economy and Security Minister of Japan. She is the leading female candidate in the race and ran against Kishida in 2021.
She is known for her conservative views, including her support for amending the pacifist constitution and frequent visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which some Asian countries consider a symbol of past militarism. She also opposed allowing women to keep their own names, arguing that doing so would undermine tradition.
In 2016, Gao City sparked controversy by suggesting that the government could revoke broadcast licences of media companies deemed politically biased.
Takaichi said she would prioritize economic growth to strengthen Japan’s international standing, using “strategic spending” to boost employment and consumer confidence.
Taro Kono,
The LDP’s Kono was a leading leadership candidate three years ago with the support of ordinary LDP members, but lost in the second round to Kishida, who had more support from the LDP. Backed by members of Congress.
This time around, Kono, who has served as several ministers, is trying to phase out fax machines, but he is lagging in the polls.
The third-generation Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, who graduated from Georgetown University and served as Japan’s foreign minister and defense minister, said his dealings with Washington would be beneficial regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election.
Curnow said he would reform the labour market to improve wages and working conditions for millions of part-time workers and help people retrain for better-paying jobs.
During the campaign, he attracted attention by suggesting that Japan should deploy nuclear-powered submarines to protect maritime chokepoints in the waters surrounding the country.
Other candidates
Other candidates include Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, 68, who has also served as foreign minister and economy and trade minister. Japan’s current foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa, 71, and former economy and security minister Takayuki Kobayashi (49), the second youngest candidate after Koizumi, are also in the race.
He is being run by former Health, Labour and Welfare Minister and Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu (68), a position currently held by former Defence Minister and Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa (63).
