Japanese Representative Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that she would contest the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) leadership election.
Takaichi, seen among the favorites in the race, is likely to face off against Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi, who is expected to formally declare his candidacy today.
They aim to succeed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as the head of the LDP in a party vote slated for Oct. 4.
Photo: AFP
“What we need now is politics that transforms people’s daily lives and anxieties about the future into hopes and dreams,” Takaichi said in a brief media address to announce her run. “And it is also strong politics that will overcome the crisis Japan faces.”
Takaichi, 64, has advocated for a conservative social agenda and robust national defense programs.
On the economic front, she has pushed government spending and low interest rates that echo policies of her political mentor, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
She was also a regular visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead and is seen by other Asian nations as a symbol of Japan’s militarist past.
On China, she has been vocal on Beijing’s military buildup in the Asia-Pacific region.
Takaichi has run in past LDP leadership elections, including finishing second to Ishiba last year.
Three men have already formally declared their candidacy in the party vote, including Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, but Takaichi’s biggest political rival is Koizumi, 44, who also often goes to Yasukuni and is the telegenic son of former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Whoever wins the internal contest would have been chosen from the viewpoint of who can best “revive the LDP and lead it to election victories,” said Junichi Takase, professor emeritus at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies.
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