Hayashi Officially Announces His Bid for LDP Presidential Race; Takaichi States Her Intention to Seek Presidency

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:40 JST, September 18, 2025

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi officially declared his candidacy for next month’s Liberal Democratic Party presidential election on Thursday.

“As the chief cabinet secretary, I’ve supported measures promoted by the administrations of Prime Ministers [Fumio] Kishida and [Shigeru] Ishiba,” Hayashi said during a press conference at the Diet Building. “I want to take over this course and add something new.”

Official campaigning for the ruling party’s race to choose a successor to Ishiba, the current party president, will begin on Monday, with voting to take place on Oct. 4.

Hayashi said it has been 30 years since he was first elected as a Diet member. “I’ll make the most of what I’ve experienced [in my career] to serve this country.”

Meanwhile, former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi also told reporters on Thursday of her intention to seek the LDP presidency, saying, “I’ve made up mind to run in the leadership race.”

The election is “a great opportunity for me to explicitly state what the LDP wants to do and aims for,” Takaichi said at the Diet Building.

She is set to hold a press conference on Friday to announce her policy agenda.

This will be her third run in the LDP presidential election. In the previous race in September last year, she secured the highest number of votes from rank-and-file members and members of party-affiliated groups, but lost in a runoff with Ishiba.

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is set to hold a press conference on Saturday to officially announce his candidacy. Former LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi and former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi have already announced their bids.