Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Shinjiro Koizumi, has announced his intention to run his party, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), replacing his outgoing leader, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The voting is set for early next month.
LDP is a major political party that ruled Japan for most of the post-war period. However, in the last election, the party lost that majority, both in the upper and lower house. To take responsibility, Ishiba announced his resignation early this month.
Koizumi is considered as one of the frontrunners for the party’s leader as he had significant success, like when he lowered the soaring rice prices. Besides being a son of former premier, Junichiro Koizumi, he also gained support from Katsunobu Kato, the Finance Minister.
His rivals, however, are also considered as strong contenders, such as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, who recently announced his candidacy. There are also Former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Former Economic Security Minister Takayuki Kobayashi.
Still, his strongest rival is Sanae Takaichi, the former internal affairs minister who has been pushing for government stimulus and monetary easing. Her victory would make her the first female Japanese leader. However, she has yet to announce to join the leadership race.
All of these five contenders had competed in last year’s leadership election, with Takaichi and Koizumi securing the second and third place, respectively.
