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Who’s in the running to be Japan’s next prime minister?

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Who’s in the running to be Japan’s next prime minister?

Japan’s governing party will choose a new leader on Friday to replace Fumio Kishida who announced his resignation in August.

The winner of the contest for leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the largest in parliament, will become the country’s next prime minister. Most analysts expect the new leader to call a snap election to secure a mandate from voters.

A record nine candidates have been campaigning and the break-up of the LDP’s usual power structures as a result of a series of corruption scandals have made it harder to predict the outcome.

Many candidates “have claimed that ‘I’m the one who can handle Trump’ or ‘I’m the one who can stand up to China’”, Jeffrey J Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies, told the AFP news agency.

But there are significant differences in their approach to such issues, and although some of the nine have “no hope whatsoever”, the race remains “a toss-up”.

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“This is the most unpredictable that an LDP election has been in many years,” Hall said.

The first round of voting starts at 1pm (04:00 GMT) with the eventual winner expected to hold a news conference at about 6pm (09:00 GMT). The contest might also produce Japan’s first woman or youngest-ever prime minister.

Candidates will go through several rounds of voting to whittle down the field [Issei Kato/Reuters]

Here are some of the more prominent contenders:

Shigeru Ishiba, 67

A former defence minister, Shigeru Ishiba is popular with the public but has failed four times to secure the post of party leader.

Ishiba’s campaign has focused heavily on security issues, and he has indicated he will push for more oversight over Washington’s use of its bases in Japan, and also for Japan to have a say in how the US might use its nuclear weapons in Asia. Other suggestions have included the creation of an ‘Asian NATO’.

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On the economy, the 67-year-old has questioned the Bank of Japan’s maverick interest rate policy. A former agriculture minister, he has also called for more efforts to address rural depopulation.

Takeshi Iwaya, one of the LDP legislators supporting Ishiba’s candidacy, describes the veteran politician as a man with a “sincere and honest attitude towards politics”.

Ishiba graduated from Keio University with a law degree. He enjoys making military models, including one of a Soviet aircraft carrier for the visit of a Russian defence minister, as well as trains and 1970s pop idols.

Shinjiro Koizumi, 43

The 43-year-old son of popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has positioned himself as the change candidate, with the vision and charisma to help the party rebuild after its recent scandals.

Koizumi was first elected to parliament in 2009 and established his credentials by working on reconstruction in eastern Japan following the devastating 2011 earthquake. He was environment minister under the administration of Shinzo Abe who was assassinated in July 2022, as well as that of his successor Yoshihide Suga.

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Koizumi has supported the development of renewables. Unusually, he also took paternity leave for the birth of his children.

He has promised to hold a snap election if he wins the party leadership.

“With the rapidly declining birthrate and ageing population, we need leaders who have the antennae and sensibility to pick up on diverse voices, including those of young people and women,” said Ayuko Kato, an LDP legislator backing Koizumi’s candidacy.

Shinjiro Koizumi. He is seated at a desk. He is holding a handwritten placard with 'Poltiical Reform' written on it in Jaoanese
Shinjiro Koizumi is positioning himself as the change candidate. His sign reads ‘Political Reform’ [File: Takashi Aoyama/Pool Photo via AP Photo]

Koizumi has an economics degree from Kanto Gakuin University, and a master’s from Columbia University, He also spent time working at the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

He enjoys surfing and in July spent a day at the beach with US ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel.

Sanae Takaichi, 63

Sanae Takaichi, whose hero is former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, could follow in her idol’s footsteps to become her country’s first woman prime minister.

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A vocal nationalist popular with the LDP’s conservative faction, Takaichi was close to Abe, whose supporters within the party remain powerful.

She has aroused controversy with her promise to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours Japan’s war dead including a number of convicted war criminals.

Japanese leaders stopped going to the shrine in 2013 amid criticism from the US and condemnation from South Korea, China and other nations that see it as a symbol of Japan’s wartime aggression.

The 63-year-old, who is currently the minister of state for economic security, also supports a strong military and nuclear power and is against social change on issues such as same-sex marriage.

She previously ran for leadership in 2021 when she had Abe’s support.

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Takaichi is a graduate of the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management.

People queue to pray at the Yasukuni shrine in August
The Yasukuni Shrine honours Japan’s war dead, but is controversial because it also includes several war criminals [File: Hiro Komae/AP Photo]

Taro Kono, 61

Taro Kono, currently minister for digital transformation, is an experienced and outspoken reformist who also ran for leadership in 2021.

Kono has held multiple jobs at ministerial level, including foreign affairs and defence, and is seen as one of the more liberal candidates. The 61-year-old has amassed 2.5 million followers on social media platform X.

Opposed to nuclear power after the 2011 quake and nuclear disaster, he has since softened his stance amid growing demands for energy from AI data centres.

Kono was first elected to parliament in 1996. He graduated from Georgetown University in the US.

Yoko Kamikawa, 71

Currently foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa was the last to join the race for the presidency, announcing her candidacy on September 11.

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She is serving her seventh term in the House of Representatives and was appointed to her first cabinet post in 2006 under Abe.

The 71-year-old has won plaudits for her work on the international stage, including a visit to Kyiv, but reportedly struggled to secure the support she needed to run as a candidate.

Kamikawa graduated from the University of Tokyo and later took a master’s in public policy from Harvard University. This is her first bid for LDP leadership.

Hayashi Yoshimasa, 63

Currently Kishida’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshimasa is a veteran politican who is in his second campaign for party leader.

He has served in six cabinets with portfolios from defence to economic policy, culture and foreign affairs.

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A law graduate from the University of Tokyo, he also has a master’s in public policy from Harvard.

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Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

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Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.
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Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

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Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

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The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

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Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

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Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

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Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

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Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.

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As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.

EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.

Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.

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“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”

On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.

“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.

“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”

Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”

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“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.

When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”

On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.

Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.

“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.

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Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET

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