Japan’s Motegi to Announce LDP Presidential Bid on Sept. 4; Hayashi Expected to Announce Candidacy on Sept. 3

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:47 JST, August 30, 2024

Toshimitsu Motegi, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s secretary general, is expected to officially announce his decision to run for the party’s presidency at a press conference on Sept. 4 and state his policies the following day.

Motegi, 68, in his first bid for LDP president, met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday at the Prime Minister’s Office and informed him of his intention to run.

“I expressed my thoughts to the prime minister,” Motegi told reporters, after his meeting with Kishida.

The LDP secretary general has been elected 10 times to the House of Representatives from Tochigi Constituency No. 5. He has also served as foreign minister, the economy, trade and industry minister and chairperson of the LDP’s policy research council. Motegi has been the party’s secretary general since November 2021 and leads an about 40-member faction, which has transformed into a policy-based group.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, 63, told reporters in the Diet on Thursday that he intends to hold a press conference on Sept. 3 to announce his candidacy.

“Someone has to take responsibility and do the job,” Hayashi said, after meeting with about 20 LDP members whom he has a good relationship with.

Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi’s office announced Thursday that she would hold a press conference in the Diet to declare her candidacy on Sept. 9.