Agriculture Minister Koizumi Intends to Run in LDP Presidency Election to Succeed Ishiba (Update 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:13 JST, September 12, 2025 (updated at 15:40 JST, Sep. 12)

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi intends to run in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, according to sources connected to his camp.

Campaigning for the election will begin on Sept. 22 and voting will take place on Oct. 4.

Koizumi, 44, plans to inform supporters in his constituency of Kanagawa Constituency No. 11 of the House of Representatives, which covers Yokosuka and Miura, as early as on Saturday. He is coordinating to hold a press conference next week to formally announce his candidacy.

This will be Koizumi’s second bid for the presidency following his third-place finish in last September’s presidential election. In that race, he secured the highest number of Diet member votes in the first round with 75 votes. However, he came in third when it came to votes from rank-and-file party members and members of party affiliated groups, which prevented him from advancing to the runoff.

Koizumi is regularly a top response in opinion polls about who the next LDP president should be and some within the party view him as a strong candidate. According to sources in his camp, he is confident about having secured the required 20 endorsements from LDP members in the Diet and is working behind the scenes to further expand his support.

“I want to prioritize my official duties when considering my actions,” Koizumi told reporters at the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry on Thursday. He added that in intending to run, he “wants to value the support of my home constituency of Yokosuka and Miura.”

Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, 64, who has reportedly solidified her intention to run, met with former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the Diet Building. According to sources, Takaichi told him that she is considering running. Kishida supported Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the previous leadership race’s runoff vote, which was contested by Ishiba and Takaichi. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, a former senior member of the Kishida faction, has also expressed interest in running.

Former LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi, 69, has officially announced his candidacy for the leadership election, while former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi has told reporters that he is determined to run.