Japanese politician Kono announces candidacy for LDP presidency: "I will create a warm-hearted society"

A Troubled Relationship with Korea... Controversy Over 'Rude' Remarks Directed at the Korean Ambassador to Japan

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Taro Kono (58), Minister for Administrative Reform, who is considered a leading candidate for the next Japanese Prime Minister, announced his intention to run in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election.

At a press conference held at the National Diet on the 10th, Kono declared his candidacy, saying, "I want to create a society where people approach each other and warmth circulates." A member of the House of Representatives for Kanagawa Prefecture, the same constituency as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and serving his eighth term, he made a statement aimed at conservatives by saying, "The cornerstone of Japan is the 'Koshitsu' (Imperial Family) and the Japanese language."

Earlier, Fumio Kishida (64), former Secretary-General of the LDP, officially expressed his intention to run on the 26th of last month, followed by Sanae Takaichi (60), former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, known as the 'avatar' of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who declared her candidacy on the 8th.

Following his failed attempt in 2009, Kono is challenging for the LDP presidency again after 12 years. In a Yomiuri Shimbun poll conducted nationwide from the 4th to 5th among 1,142 voters, he received 23% support, surpassing Ishiba (21%) and Kishida (12%) to rank first, demonstrating his high popularity among the public. He has been actively communicating with the public through social networking services (SNS), boasting about 2.35 million Twitter followers.

He served as Foreign Minister and Defense Minister under the Abe administration, and in the Suga Cabinet launched in September last year, he took on the role of Minister for Administrative Reform and concurrently served as the minister in charge of COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic. He is the eldest son of Yohei Kono (84), then Chief Cabinet Secretary, who issued the 'Kono Statement' in August 1993, acknowledging the coercive nature of the Japanese military's recruitment of comfort women and expressing apology.

Although known for his eloquence, he has also been criticized for his harsh speech and has a troubled relationship with South Korea. During the diplomatic confrontation between Japan and South Korea following the South Korean Supreme Court's ruling on compensation for forced labor victims in October 2018, he was Foreign Minister and came under fire for undiplomatic behavior.

On July 19, 2019, he summoned Nam Gwan-pyo, then South Korean Ambassador to Japan, to protest that the South Korean government had not agreed to form an arbitration committee to address the forced labor compensation issue. When Ambassador Nam tried to explain the South Korean government's proposal to resolve the issue through a fund contributed by companies from both countries, Kono interrupted him and, with an agitated expression, raised his voice saying, "We have previously conveyed that we absolutely cannot accept the South Korean side's proposal. It is extremely rude to pretend not to know that and make a new proposal," sparking controversy.

At the press conference announcing his candidacy, Kono indicated his intention to maintain the existing hardline stance by stating that he would "continue the historical awareness inherited by the LDP administration" regarding the comfort women issue, the biggest issue between Japan and South Korea.

The LDP president is elected by votes from party-affiliated Diet members and party members. In this election, candidate registration will take place on the 17th, and voting and counting will be held on the 29th. The electorate includes 383 LDP Diet members (House of Representatives and House of Councillors, excluding the Speaker) and about one million party members and supporters (383 votes, proportionally distributed according to the number of votes each candidate receives). The new LDP president, from the current ruling party, is expected to be nominated as Prime Minister at the extraordinary Diet session scheduled for early next month, succeeding Suga.

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