Japan ruling party’s No.2 Motegi becomes 5th to enter leadership race

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Toshimitsu Motegi, the No.2 in Japan’s ruling party, said Wednesday he will run for party leader in the election in late September to succeed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, becoming the fifth candidate to enter the race.

As secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party and leader of one of its powerful intraparty groups, Motegi, 68, has been a key supporter of Kishida, although their relations are believed to have cooled since a political funds scandal emerged to rock the party late last year.

“I commit myself to producing results. I will create a stable government that can squarely tackle changes at home and abroad,” Motegi told a press conference.

On specific steps to take if elected LDP chief, a job that effectively guarantees the post of prime minister, he pledged to ensure there would be “no tax hikes” by further fostering economic growth and to declare “within six months” an official end to the deflation that has plagued the nation for years.

“If no results can be seen in three years, I will take responsibility” as leader, he said.

The Harvard-educated, former McKinsey consultant, who has also held key government posts including foreign and industry minister, is seen as one of the leading candidates to succeed Kishida as LDP president in the Sept. 27 election.

He played a central role in negotiating a trade deal with the United States when then U.S. President Donald Trump took issue with his nation’s massive trade deficits with Japan.

It will be Motegi’s first bid for the party leadership. He is also the first sitting LDP executive to enter the race, which is expected to see a record seven or more candidates.

The LDP faces the urgent need to win back trust from voters in the wake of the political funds scandal, which has prompted the party’s factions, including one led by Motegi, to decide to disband.

In announcing his candidacy, Motegi pledged to ensure transparency in how the LDP obtains and spends funds, and to create a “completely new” party.

From the current Cabinet, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, 63, a policy expert who has served as defense, foreign, agriculture and education minister, said Tuesday he will join the race to succeed Kishida, who has decided not seek to a fresh three-year term.

Digital Minister Taro Kono, 61, a political maverick who was defeated by Kishida in the previous election in 2021, has already thrown his name into the hat.

Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a 43-year-old rising star in the LDP, plans to declare his candidacy on Friday, while former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, 67, last month announced he would make his fifth and “last” bid to become LDP chief.

Both score highly in opinion polls on whom the public would like to see become the next Japanese leader.

Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, 49, is also running and his successor, Sanae Takaichi, 63, is expected to announce her own bid next week.