Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi voiced his intention to run in the Oct. 4 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election during a meeting with supporters in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
"I will unite the LDP once again and engage with the opposition," Koizumi, 44, said at the meeting.
Koizumi expressed his intention to work on addressing rising prices, security challenges and other pending issues. He is expected to hold a news conference next week to formally announce his candidacy in the LDP leadership race to pick the successor of outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
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