TOKYO (Reuters) – Sanae Takaichi, a veteran of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party and a fiscal dove, has decided to run in the party’s leadership race following Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation over election losses, Kyodo reported late on Monday.
LDP officials said on Tuesday that the party would hold a “full-spec” vote, rather than the quicker, simplified vote, to choose its next leader. In a full-scale contest, each lawmaker casts a vote, with rank-and-file members also receiving an equal number of votes in the first round.
The format is expected to favour Takaichi and another potential candidate, Farm Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, among a field likely to include at least five candidates, a senior LDP lawmaker said. The party plans to hold the vote on October 4, an LDP official close to the matter said.
Takaichi and Koizumi – son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who gained prominence as Ishiba’s farm minister tasked with curbing soaring rice prices – have emerged as frontrunners in the race.
Neither has formally announced their candidacy, but they placed second and third respectively in the last leadership contest in September 2024.
Other potential candidates include former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who announced his bid on Monday, as well as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, according to a source close to the government’s top spokesperson.
Ishiba announced his resignation on Sunday, taking responsibility for election results that saw his ruling coalition lose its majority in both houses of parliament amid voter anger over rising costs.
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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