The race to replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has kicked off, with Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday becoming the first to announce his candidacy, a day after Ishiba said he would step down.
Media reports are also saying Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the government’s top spokesman, will also throw his hat into the ring, while former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi and farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi are considered possible candidates.
“I’ve decided to run in the LDP presidential election,” Motegi told reporters Monday morning.
“It’s tough to pull (the LDP) out of this adversity,” he said. “With the experience I had within the party and the government, I’d like to serve the country with everything I’ve got.”
Motegi’s comments came a day after Ishiba announced his intention to step down as party president to take responsibility for the party’s defeat in the July Upper House election, amid rising discontent from rank-and-file members.
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