Japan’s maverick Kono enters race for next PM

TOKYO: Japan’s outspoken, social media-savvy digital transformation minister announced Monday that he was running to replace Fumio Kishida as prime minister, saying he would look beyond domestic affairs and “help steer the world”.

Taro Kono, 61, who was formerly the minister for foreign affairs, became the third lawmaker to declare their candidacy in a key vote next month to choose the ruling party’s president — and by extension, Japan’s next leader.

He joins ex-defence minister Shigeru Ishiba, 67, and former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, 49, in the race.

“I will run for the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election,” Kono told a packed news conference Monday.

Touting his experience as foreign affairs chief, he added: “I can help steer the world.”

“Unlike the previous LDP presidential elections, where we had been content to limit our discussions to Japan, this is the first race where we have to talk about the world,” he said, citing the war in Ukraine and a potential crisis around Taiwan.

Kono’s showmanship on X, where he speaks frankly to his 2.5 million followers, as well as his occasional disregard for red tape and formalities have earned him a reputation for being a maverick.

He has also been a rare voice of support within the conservative LDP for measures such as legalising same-sex marriage and boosting immigration.

The leadership race is taking place after Kishida announced earlier this month he would step aside, with polls showing plummeting approval ratings following a fundraising kickbacks scandal.

Opinion polls have largely shown the public favouring Ishiba as the next prime minister, followed by Shinjiro Koizumi, 43-year-old scion of charismatic ex-PM Junichiro Koizumi. Koizumi hasn’t officially declared his candidacy.

Kono, once a darling of the public, has slipped into fourth place in a Yomiuri Shimbun survey, behind vocal nationalist Sanae Takaichi.

Over the weekend, perennial contender Ishiba announced his fifth shot at the top job, but added it would be his last.

“This will be the culmination of my 38-year career as a politician… I will give it my all,” he said.

Rising star Kobayashi said upon announcing his candidacy last week that the LDP needed to rejuvenate itself, reinforcing his image as a leader for the next generation.

-AFP