TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's economic security minister, Sanae Takaichi, on Monday announced her second bid to become president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, joining what is already a crowded race with a record number of candidates.
Takaichi, 63, one of the most hawkish contenders in the Sept. 27 election, is seeking to replace outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, although she has lost her staunch supporter, the late premier Shinzo Abe, with whom she shared conservative views on security issues.
The ninth-term House of Representatives member was eliminated in the first round of voting in the LDP's 2021 election when Kishida was elected. Before assuming her current post under his cabinet, she served as internal affairs minister and the LDP's policy chief.
She has periodically visited the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, a source of diplomatic friction with China and South Korea, both of which suffered from Japan's wartime aggression. Takaichi takes a cautious stance on allowing married couples to use different surnames, a controversial issue within the conservative LDP.
Takaichi is the third cabinet member to announce her candidacy, after Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, 63, and Digital Minister Taro Kono, 61.
Other candidates include former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, 67, former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, 43, and former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, 49. LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, 68, the No. 2 in the ruling party, has also announced his bid.
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