When Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced plans to step down on Wednesday, he vowed that his departure would clear the way for a new leader who could bring change to Japan’s long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The party has managed to keep a stranglehold on power despite deep public dissatisfaction over political scandals and economic stagnation — and despite repeatedly steering away from candidates popular with the public.
Here are five politicians likely to figure in the party’s deliberations over whom to promote to prime minister next month.
Mr. Kono, 61, is a popular and somewhat unconventional figure who could significantly shake up Japan’s governing party.
Mr. Kono, a graduate of Georgetown University, is Japan’s digital minister. He came within a hair’s breadth of becoming prime minister in 2021, narrowly losing a runoff vote to Mr. Kishida despite a surge of public support for his more progressive stance on issues like legalizing same-sex marriage.
However, Mr. Kono’s outspoken nature, left-leaning views and popularity on social media have not endeared him to the party’s conservative elders.
As digital minister, Mr. Kono has gone to war against Japan’s reliance on outdated technologies like fax machines and floppy disks.
While Mr. Kono has not formally indicated he would run in this year’s election, for months he has told government officials that he was strongly considering it.
Mr. Ishiba, 67, is the only candidate who has officially declared his intention to run in the upcoming L.D.P. election. Before Mr. Kishida’s decision to step aside, several polls showed Mr. Ishiba as the public’s favorite to become prime minister.
Through much of his career, Mr. Ishiba has been criticized by fellow lawmakers for his abrasive, populist style. Still, he is popular, known for what some describe as a “nerdy” enthusiasm for manga, trains and pop songs from the 1970s.
In recent months, Mr. Ishiba has argued for policies that would help rein in the inflation squeezing Japanese households and tackle widening income disparities in Japan that he asserts are the foundation of the country’s declining birthrate.
In a book published this month, Mr. Ishiba said that Japan should revise the pacifist clause of its Constitution to permit it to retain military forces.
Mr. Ishiba has held several senior positions, including those of defense minister, agriculture minister, and L.D.P. secretary general. He ran for the leadership four times in the past, narrowly losing to Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga in 2012 and 2020.
Toshimitsu Motegi
Mr. Motegi, 68, is the secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party, and he served as economy minister from 2012 to 2014 and foreign affairs minister from 2019 to 2021. He was first elected to Japan’s House of Representatives in 1993 after working for the consulting firm McKinsey. He is a graduate of the University of Tokyo and Harvard’s school of public policy.
Known for his short-tempered, commanding personality, Mr. Motegi has been nicknamed “Moteking.” Following tough negotiations with the United States on a new trade pact in 2019, local news media also began referring to him as “Japan’s Trump whisperer.”
Like other prominent candidates, Mr. Motegi has called on the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates to stabilize the yen. He also champions deregulation, including a complete lifting of Japan’s longstanding ban on ride-sharing services, and the use of government subsidies to support economic growth and lift incomes.
Ms. Takaichi, 63, is Japan’s economic security minister, and has served as the minister of internal affairs and communications. She came in third in the party’s runoff in 2021, and if elected this time, she would be the party’s first female leader.
She has positioned herself as a right-wing champion, supporting policies like requiring married couples to share a surname.
Ms. Takaichi argues that Japanese atrocities during World War II have been overstated, and she regularly visits Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial in Tokyo honoring Japan’s war dead that is a flashpoint for historical sensitivities in China and South Korea. She has criticized past L.D.P. prime ministers as being indecisive leaders.
Shinjiro Koizumi
Mr. Koizumi, 43, would represent another potential candidate of change if the party chooses him.
He is the son of a former prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, and holds a master’s degree in political science from Columbia University. Mr. Koizumi was one of the youngest lawmakers to join Japan’s cabinet when he was appointed environment minister by late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2019.
During his stint as environment minister, Mr. Koizumi gained global recognition for promoting renewable energy and criticizing Japan’s continued use of fossil fuels. At a United Nations summit in 2019, Mr. Koizumi said that taking on big issues like climate change needed to be “fun,” “cool,” and “sexy, too.”
While Mr. Koizumi has not indicated he plans to enter the running for leadership, he is seen as a favored candidate of former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. This week, Mr. Koizumi told reporters that the upcoming party election would be a chance to change the Liberal Democratic Party and restore the public’s trust.
Read More: Who’s Up Next in Japan? Here Are 5 Potential Leaders.
