LDP Kishida Policy Research Council Chairman Officially Declares Candidacy for Next Party President

Fumio Kishida, LDP Policy Research Council Chairman
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Fumio Kishida, the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Policy Research Council, officially announced on the 1st that he will run in the next LDP presidential election.

According to NHK and other broadcasts, Kishida made the announcement at a meeting of the Kishida faction (47 members), the LDP faction he leads, in the afternoon, stating, "I will become a leader who gains the cooperation of the people," and "I will run for the presidency."

Kishida was originally known as the figure chosen by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as his successor, but ahead of the presidential election, the Hosoda faction (98 members), the largest LDP faction to which Abe belongs, decided to support Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, causing Kishida to lose significant support. The second-largest faction, the Aso faction (54 members), led by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, also decided to support Suga.

Kishida emphasized, "What is necessary to fight against the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and to pioneer a new era is the cooperation of the people," adding, "For that, political trust is the most important thing." He also added that to overcome the current crisis, it is necessary to cherish history and tradition while having the courage to change towards the future.

The LDP held a general affairs meeting at 11 a.m. that day and decided to elect the new president through a joint meeting of both houses of parliament without a party member vote. This method decides the next president with a total of 535 votes, combining 394 votes from Diet members and 141 votes from representatives of the LDP's prefectural federation branches. Generally, both Diet members (394 votes) and party members (394 votes) participate in selecting the next president, but in urgent situations, the party rules allow for a simplified vote by significantly reducing the weight of party member votes.

The LDP regarded Prime Minister Abe's sudden resignation as an "urgent case" and decided to conduct a simplified election. Accordingly, the LDP plans to announce the presidential election on the 8th and hold a joint parliamentary meeting on the 14th to conduct voting and counting.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.