LDP Leadership Election: The Nine Who Aspire to Become PM

On September 12, nine Diet individuals officially announced their candidacy to run for leader of the majority Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Whoever ultimately wins will most likely become Japan's next prime minister. 

The number of candidates is slightly fewer than anticipated. Two politicians — Seiko Noda and Ken Saito — failed to gather the support of 20 fellow LDP Diet members. This is a prerequisite to running in the party leadership election. Seven men and two women make up the nine politicians who are running. This is the highest number of candidates for the leadership post since the party's founding in 1955. 

All nine candidates stood before fellow lawmakers on September 12 and delivered approximately 10-minute speeches. This officially kicked off the leadership race. Over the following two days, the nine hopefuls held press conferences and a policy debate, making a public appeal for their candidacy. 

Common Threads

In an unusual alignment among LDP fellow party members, all nine candidates strongly advocated for constitutional reform. Moreover, all nine want the Self-Defense Forces explicitly recognized in the constitution, thereby strengthening Japan's security. 

Also, the candidates shared a consistent theme of LDP reform following the political party funding scandal. This was a sign of the times. Backlash from coverage of the issue is believed to have contributed to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's decision to resign.

Each candidate appealed to their strengths in a short speech, giving color to what is expected to be a hectic two weeks of campaigning.

Those listening most closely likely included fellow LDP Diet members and the approximately one million rank-and-file party members. Each group holds half of the votes in this first round of the leadership election. With so many candidates, a second round of voting is likely. In a runoff, the 367 Diet members vote again, and each of the 47 prefectural chapters casts one vote. 

Below are highlights of each candidate. For clarity, key policy proposals from the respective candidate press conferences are summarized. Candidates are listed in an order based on the August FNN-Sankei popularity poll. It starts with the most popular candidate at that time, Shinjiro Koizumi. 

Shinjiro Koizumi

Youngest among the candidates, Shinjiro Koizumi's message focuses on channeling change. This seems to echo his father – Junichiro Koizumi, a popular former prime minister who pushed for "destroying" the LDP and privatization of the postal system. 

Shinjiro, however, focuses on reform in three areas. They are regulatory reform, political reform, and "expansion of choices."

The latter includes increasing income for the middle class. He would also allow women, especially, the choice to legally keep their maiden name in family registries after marriage. This he suggests would "increase the choices of a diverse society." To appeal to this point, he recounted his experiences of growing up with divorced parents. He only met his birth mother at the age of 43. 

Koizumi emphasizes his wish to call a referendum on constitutional reform. Should he be elected, he also promises a quick snap election including all members of the National Diet. 

Shigeru Ishiba

Ishiba opened with stoicism, saying that he sees this as his last attempt to run in an LDP leadership race. He has run four times in the past. His past official government experience includes positions as Minister of Defense (2007-8), Minister of Agriculture (2008-9), and Secretary-General of the LDP.

Early in his speech, he explains his plan is to "protect Japan." This is first from the threat of neighboring countries such as North Korea, as well as by strengthening self-defense. 

In addition, he talks of "protecting the people." Specifically, this includes his pledge to better provide for those affected by natural disasters. Citing his time as Minister of Agriculture, he also reiterates his commitment to regional revitalization as a key step to economic growth. 

Sanae Takaichi 

Sanae Takaichi appeals to her well-known policies, promising to create a "safe Japanese archipelago." She specifically calls for investing in "security, education, welfare, medical care" to make "Japan strong and prosperous." These proposals reflect in part her expertise as current Minister in charge of economic security. 

Takaichi's other dominant theme is pledging reform of the party funding system to bring back trust in LDP politics. 

Ultimately, Takaichi promises to "make the LDP a party that people can rely on, which takes pride in our nation's traditions, culture and history." 

Taro Kono

Kono appeals based on his experience as defense minister (2019-2020) and foreign minister (2017-2019). He highlights Japan's need to become a leader in diplomacy and security in the region. 

In a slightly-restrained reformist tone compared to the last time he ran for the LDP leadership post in 2021, he argues for regulatory reform. Kono calls for deregulating Japan so as to introduce new technology in everyday life. For example? Self-driving cars. 

Kono also raises his track record on making COVID-19 vaccines widely available and the introduction of the digital social security "My Number Card" system. Therefore, he challenges, "I would like you to all look at my achievements as someone who is not afraid of facing difficulties, and someone who can solve problems and push Japan forward." 

Yoko Kamikawa

Currently the foreign minister, Kamikawa was the last one to declare her candidacy in the race. An element of "catching up" was also felt in her speech. She rushes through her past experiences, explaining how they reflected her strength as a politician. 

Kamikawa looks back at her time as PM Kishida's foreign minister (2023-present). She was also justice minister under five cabinets. The veteran politician and oldest candidate highlighted her ability to "take hard decisions when no one else could." This, she says, was key when Japan was looking for a leader who "could empathize with the wishes of the people." 

In other examples, she cites her passion for channeling the United Nations' Women, Peace and Security agenda. This pillar of UN policy spotlights the needs of women and their role in conflict situations and their resolution. On a related point, Kamikawa also highlights the steps she has taken for greater protection of victims of sexual violence in Japan. 

Takayuki Kobayashi 

Takayuki Kobayashi faces an uphill battle in spreading awareness of his ideas. Some of this urgency comes through in his speech. 

He packs it with a wide variety of policies he wishes to pursue. These range from security, raising the income of the middle class, energy, agriculture, diplomacy, and more. 

His vision is to "make Japan a world-leading nation." This idea first bloomed while working at the Japanese Embassy in the United States in 2009, he explains. While there, he felt for the first time Japan's urgent need to reinstate its position on the world stage. 

Toshimitsu Motegi

Perhaps reflecting his pre-politics years as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, Motegi's speech focuses on economic policy. The experienced politician and current LDP secretary-general gathered the loudest cheers among candidates when speaking in front of fellow party members. 

Motegi proposed a "no-tax-increase growth plan," which would focus on economic recovery. His concept would increase the government's budget to invest in the economy. He also proposes that bringing vitality to the economy and investing in the local communities would lead to economic recovery. 

"I believe that there is still a lot of untapped economic growth in Japan, and we are determined to achieve that," Motegi concludes. 

Yoshimasa Hayashi

Hayashi notably plays on his reputation as a politician who comes through when times are tough. He is known as the "119" politician, referring to Japan's emergency number. This is also a play on words as his birthday is on January 19. 

Apart from the pleasantries, Hayashi centers his pitch around "three policies to bring peace of mind" (anshin in Japanese). 

Hayashi's first point was bringing vitality back to Japan via work reform and investment in the countryside. He next highlights the increasing importance of response in the face of natural disasters. Third, he speaks about the need for continued diplomacy, leveraging his experience as defense minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Hayashi is a past chairman of the Japan-China Parliamentarians Friendship Association. In line with Kishida's policy, he says he sees China as a partner for collaboration, but one that also needs to respect international frameworks.

Katsunobu Kato

In his speech, Kato centers his policy proposals around the concept of doubling the national income and raising stipends. He would do this by enacting policies to encourage economic growth. 

His vision is to bring vitality back to Japan, he explains. 

Kato also introduces ideas such as decreasing expenses for families. For example, he promotes cutting the costs families now pay for school lunches, medical care, and childbirth. 

Follow our coverage for more details on the candidates and analysis in the coming weeks. 

RELATED:

• Understanding the LDP Leadership Election
• EDITORIAL |  LDP Leadership Sweepstakes: 9 Candidates and a List of Priorities

Author: Arielle Busetto