Friday marks the start of the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election campaign, with voting scheduled to take place on Sept. 29.
On Thursday, acting LDP Secretary General Seiko Noda declared her candidacy. Speaking at a press conference at party headquarters, Noda said, "The necessary number of nominations has been secured, so I've decided to stand."
She joins former LDP Policy Research Council Chairperson Fumio Kishida, former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi and administrative and regulatory reform minister Taro Kono in the race for the LDP's top post.
At a press conference on Wednesday, former LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba said he had decided not to stand in the election.
"To respond to people's calls for change in the LDP and politics, I believe the forces that want reform should not be split. That was what I based my decision on," he said, confirming he would support Kono, with whom he shares a similar political philosophy and ambitions for reform.
The Ishiba faction has decided to let faction members choose their preferred candidate in the election. Six of the seven LDP factions, excluding the Kishida faction, have decided not to unify support for one candidate, making the outcome of the election hard to predict.
Kishida on Wednesday sought cooperation from people including Mikio Aoki, a former chief cabinet secretary who is influential among Takeshita faction members in the upper house.
Takaichi, who is backed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other conservative lawmakers, also spent the day visiting lawmakers to drum up support.
"I hope [the campaign] will be an opportunity to promote a broad range of in-depth policies," she told reporters at the Diet Building.
Meanwhile, Kono met with restaurant owners affected by the coronavirus pandemic and appeared on TV programs. "It is important to win with the support of the people," he said.
Ishiba and Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi have declared their support for Kono. The three lawmakers have polled well in public opinion surveys.
"I've run for president many times in the past. I have voters who support me. I'd like to talk to those people ahead of the presidential election," Ishiba said Wednesday, suggesting he would encourage his supporters to back Kono.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Koizumi made his opinion clear regarding the decision of the 96-member Hosoda faction, the largest in the LDP, to declare its support for both Kishida and Takaichi.
"Even on this one point, isn't it clear who should be the leader who can change the party and Japan?"
The candidates will be vying for 766 votes in total -- the 383 held by LDP lawmakers and an equal number of ballots based on votes cast by party members and members of affiliated groups.
In a Yomiuri Shimbun poll conducted on Sept. 4 and 5, 23% of respondents selected Kono as the best candidate to be the next prime minister. Ishiba came in second at 21% and Koizumi came in fourth at 11%.
If the three lawmakers teamed up, it is believed they would have an advantage in the battle for party member votes.
The House of Representatives election will be held after the LDP presidential election. In past lower house elections, Kono, Ishiba and Koizumi have been flooded with requests for support from lawmakers.
A middle-ranking member of the Ishiba faction said: "The three are an all-star team. They can attract young Diet members who are desperate for a leader who can become a dominant face in an election.
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