Tokyo, 3 September, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi on Tuesday announced he will run in the ruling party’s leadership election, seeking to succeed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after serving as his right-hand man.
Hayashi, 63, the second cabinet member to enter the Sept. 27 race, vowed to restore public trust in the scandal-hit Liberal Democratic Party and conduct politics “in a way people can relate to.”
“I’m still doing my job as a member of the cabinet and know how severe the situation facing Japan is,” the chief Cabinet secretary said. “It will be my 30th year as a lawmaker and I will make full use of my experience for the country.”
Having served as foreign, defense, education and agriculture minister, Hayashi is considered one of the leading policy experts in the LDP and has been touted as a future Japanese leader. He has run for the party’s top post once before, in 2012, when Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving leader, was elected for his second stint.
The announcement coincided with the formal dissolution of the intraparty faction he belonged to in response to a slush funds scandal involving a number of factions in the LDP. The group, which notified the government the same day of its disbandment, had produced five prime ministers in the past, including Kishida.
Hayashi, who vowed to review the use of political funds and boost transparency, said that if elected LDP chief, he will ensure parliament initiates a proposal to amend the Constitution, a key step toward achieving the party’s long-held goal of revising the supreme law.
Kishida is stepping down as party chief without seeking reelection beyond his three-year term through September. The number of candidates could eclipse seven, a record under the current selection system introduced in 1971.
While the top priority for candidates is to restore public trust in the party, they will also be pressed to explain how they intend to navigate the economy through a cost-of-living crisis and tackle diplomatic and security challenges posed by an assertive China, nuclear-armed North Korea, and Russia.
Given both houses of parliament are controlled by the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito party, the next ruling party chief will almost certainly become prime minister. Lawmakers, especially those in the opposition camp, are already bracing for the prospect that the new leader will soon dissolve the powerful lower house for a snap election.
Digital Minister Taro Kono, 61, was the first current cabinet member to announce his bid. Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, 67, and former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, 49, have also thrown their names into the hat.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, one of the public’s favorites to become premier and at 43 a rising star in the LDP, is scheduled to formally announce his candidacy on Friday.
