By Japan Today Editor

Copyright japantoday

Former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday announced her candidacy for the Oct 4 presidential election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, stressing the need to expand investment and fiscal spending to revive Japan’s economy.

“Japan is back,” Takaichi, who is seeking to become the nation’s first female prime minister, said at a press conference, adding, “Without brightness, there is no future. Without safety, it is not Japan. Let’s put Japan back on top of the world.”

The 64-year-old lawmaker, who shares the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s hawkish views on national security, is seen as one of the frontrunners along with farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the 44-year-old son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

While denying she is unwilling to maintain fiscal discipline, Takaichi said she would “boost the economy through responsible, aggressive and wise spending.”

Takaichi, seen by markets as a fiscal dove, also pledged to create a new agency to screen foreign investment to protect economic security and to introduce stricter rules on visa overstayers and land acquisitions by nonresident foreigners, as some opposition parties have urged.

Policy toward foreigners drew public attention in the July 20 House of Councillors election that saw gains made by a small populist opposition party promoting a “Japanese First” slogan.

Takaichi, meanwhile, said she would deliver a mix of income tax deductions and cash handouts to households and raise the tax-free annual income threshold, while also endorsing another opposition party’s call for strengthening Tokyo’s functions as Japan’s capital.

She ruled out a consumption tax cut, however, saying it would have “no immediate effect” in grappling with inflation, although many opposition forces argue for the step.

The LDP leadership contest is set to take place after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the party’s head, said earlier this month that he would resign to take responsibility for major setbacks in recent national elections.

Other expected candidates for the race include Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi.

The next LDP leader, however, is not assured of becoming prime minister, as the ruling coalition with the Komeito party lost its majority in the House of Representatives following the general election in October 2024.