Tokyo, 27 June, /AJMEDIA/
Digital Minister Taro Kono has informed a heavyweight of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that he intends to run in its presidential race in September, aiming to become Japan’s next prime minister, a source close to the matter said Thursday.
Kono, known as an outspoken lawmaker, conveyed his intention to LDP Vice President Taro Aso, a former prime minister who heads an intraparty group that the minister belongs to, during a dinner meeting on Wednesday, the source said.
Speaking to reporters about the matter on Thursday, Kono, a reform-minded maverick and social media-savvy member within the conservative LDP, said, “Who? Which Mr. Kono?” He added, “I have never disclosed what I discussed over dinner. That’s an interesting novel.”
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, 66, has indicated his willingness to be reelected as the LDP’s president. If Kono, 61, runs, it would be a rare case of a minister challenging an incumbent head of the Cabinet in the ruling party’s presidential election.
As the approval ratings for Kishida’s Cabinet have plummeted to their lowest levels since its launch in October 2021, due largely to his handling of a slush funds scandal, calls within the LDP for him not to seek reelection have been growing.
Kono, a ninth-term House of Representatives lawmaker, has held key posts such as foreign minister. In the 2021 LDP presidential race, Kono, backed by then Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga who had decided not to run again, lost to Kishida in the second-round runoff.
© KYODO
