The Liberal Democratic Party presidential election to select the successor to Prime Minister Suga has decided that the Minister of State for Regulatory Reform Kono will run for office, and will announce it at a press conference on the 10th.
This is the third person following former Political Survey Chairman Kishida and former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi, who have already announced their candidacy, and it is expected that the movements of each camp and faction will become even more active toward the notification on the 17th of this month.
Kono: To announce at a press conference tomorrow to solidify the intentions of candidates for regulatory reform
Regarding the LDP presidential election announced on the 17th of this month, the Minister of Regulatory Reform Kono expressed his willingness to run for candidacy, and asked for understanding by meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aso of the Aso faction to which he belongs every day. On the 9th, we also had a meeting with former Prime Minister Abe.
Under these circumstances, Mr. Kono has decided to run for a candidacy, saying that it is expected that a certain level of understanding will be obtained within the Aso faction, and will announce at a press conference on the 10th.
Then, after noon on the 9th, I visited the Ministry of Finance and met with Mr. Aso again to convey these intentions, and then to the faction executives.
Mr. Kono is 58 years old with eight elections from the 15th district of Kanagawa, the House of Representatives.
Yohei Kono, the eldest son of the former chairman of the House of Representatives, who served as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected for the first time in the 1996 House of Representatives election, and served as the Minister for Administrative Reform, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Defense.
The Suga Cabinet, which was established in September last year, joined the Cabinet as the Minister of State for Regulatory Reform, and since January, he has also been in charge of vaccination with the new coronavirus, and is in charge of overall coordination.
Former Political Survey Chairman Kishida and former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi have announced their candidacy over the presidential election, and Acting Secretary-General Noda has expressed motivation, and former Secretary-General Ishiba is considering running.
Former President of Masatoshi Kishida Calling for support from the group Meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Aso and others
Former Political Survey Chairman Kishida visited the office of a real estate-related organization in Chuo-ku, Tokyo in the morning and called for support.
After that, Mr. Kishida told reporters, "We announced measures against corona and economic policy, but we would like to continue to disseminate information including diplomacy and security. We will make every effort to face the people and party members. I will continue. "
On the other hand, Mr. Kishida was asked by reporters about his thoughts on the female emperor in connection with the stable succession of the throne, but said, "I am against the female emperor. I should not say that now." rice field.
In addition, Mr. Kishida visited the Ministry of Finance on the evening of the 9th and had a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Aso, the chairman of the Aso faction, for about 20 minutes.
Mr. Kishida had a meeting with Mr. Aso on the 30th of last month after he announced his candidacy, and based on the fact that the Minister of State for Regulatory Reform Kono, who belongs to the Aso faction, decided to run for candidacy, he commented on the situation within the party. It seems that they exchanged.
After the meeting, Mr. Kishida told reporters, "Greetings. The situation is changing rapidly and we exchanged opinions."
Prior to this, Mr. Kishida also met with Ishihara's executive chairman, Mr. Moriyama, on the afternoon of the 9th.
Former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi started activities to expand support
Former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi started activities to expand support, such as appearing on an Internet program in the morning on the 9th.
Mr. Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo, "Last night we gathered with volunteer members to divide the roles of the election countermeasures headquarters and work. Since yesterday was a kick-off, we greeted and called in earnest to convey the policy steadily. I want to go. "
Regarding the fact that former Prime Minister Abe has expressed his intention to support himself, "I am very grateful. Mr. Abe is very particular about policy." The next Prime Minister must decide what the imperial family should be. It will be the time. "
Former Secretary-General Ishiba "Blank Paper" Correspondence Shows unchanged recognition
Former Secretary-General Ishiba exchanged opinions on the situation within the party while contacting members of the Ishiba faction at the office of the Members' Office Building on the 9th.
Then, in the afternoon, he appeared on the TBS program "Hiruobi!" And expressed his recognition that there would be no change in his response to the presidential election, which he said was "blank."
"The important thing is whether you can win. Last year's presidential election gave you a convincing policy and speech, but you lost a lot and sacrificed a lot of people. What do you think about this? Don't be complacent." Said.
On the other hand, when asked about the need to re-examine the issue of falsification of the approval document of the Ministry of Finance regarding "Moritomo Gakuen", "I have to do it if necessary. It means that the people of Japan are convinced. "
Acting Secretary-General Noda Understand the situation within the party
On the 9th, Acting Secretary-General Noda contacted members close to him at the party headquarters and the office of the Members' Office Building to understand the situation within the party.
He also called for support not only from the same non-faction members as himself, but also from members of factions such as the Takeshita faction and the Nikai faction.
Mr. Noda will continue to work on securing the 20 nominees needed for candidates.
Hosoda faction continued discussions with executives Masatoshi Shimomura did not run for candidacy
The Hosoda faction, the largest faction, held a one-hour general meeting at the party headquarters on the afternoon of the 9th, attended by about 80 people.
According to the attendees, about 20 people said that they would like to support former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi, saying that four of them agree on a conservative idea.
Other speakers did not give a specific name, but pointed out that "it is necessary to stabilize the Diet response and administration".
Regarding the faction's response, while there was a voice saying "I want to vote on my own initiative based on the actual situation of the region", there was also an opinion that "I should unify the candidates to support in order to show my presence".
In response to this, the faction chairman, former secretary-general Hosoda, decided to continue discussions with executives based on the opinions expressed.
On the other hand, after the meeting, Mr. Shimomura, the chairman of the political affairs investigation, told reporters that he would "complete his duties to the end" and expressed his intention not to run for office.
Shuichi Takatori, a member of the House of Representatives, told reporters, "I asked the former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi to support me at the general meeting. I think the hurdle to unite and support is high. "
On the evening of the 9th, about 10 members of the Hosoda faction, including members of the House of Representatives Takatori and Hiroshi Yamada, who support the former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi, held a meeting in the Diet.
Mr. Takaichi also attended the meeting.
He confirmed that he would encourage other members of the Hosoda faction to support Mr. Takaichi.
Kishida faction Confirmed to strengthen efforts to party members nationwide
The Kishida faction held a meeting at a faction office near the Diet on the afternoon of the 9th, and while the chairman, former political research chairman Kishida, was absent due to a TV appearance, more than 20 members of the Diet attended.
In this, Yoshimasa Hayashi, the former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, said, "It is difficult to determine the composition, but at the end, each and every one of them will create a big flow. It is important to steadily accumulate from this stage." ..
At the meeting, we will send a leaflet summarizing Mr. Kishida's policy to the supporters of the members of the Diet to strengthen the efforts to the party members nationwide and to appeal to the members of other factions and local members for support. confirmed.
Takeshita faction To identify the composition and policies, etc. Foreign Minister Motegi does not run for candidacy
Around noon on the 9th, the Takeshita faction gathered executives such as Foreign Minister Motegi, who acts as acting chairman, and former Minister of Finance Sekiguchi and former Finance Minister Nukaga at a faction office near the Diet, and exchanged opinions for about 30 minutes.
In addition to the opinion that the members of the Diet should respond together, there are also voices calling for voluntary voting, so it was decided to continue to determine the response while observing the composition of the election and the policies appealed by the candidates. ..
After the meeting, Minister Mogi told reporters, "Former Chairman Takeshita has instructed us to organize the faction. It's difficult, "he said, and revealed his idea of not running for himself.
Continue to talk without deciding how to deal with the second class
The Nikai faction held a meeting at a faction office near the Diet on the afternoon of the 9th, and about 30 people attended.
At the meeting, there was an opinion that "it is desirable to take as cohesive measures as possible as a faction," but we decided to continue discussions without deciding what to do.
Confirm the faction's policy decision while looking at the policies of the Ishihara faction candidate
The Ishihara faction held a meeting at a faction office near the Diet on the afternoon of the 9th to discuss how to deal with it, but no conclusion was reached and it was confirmed that the faction's policy would be decided while looking at the candidate's policies.
Former secretary-general Ishihara, who serves as chairman, told reporters, "We have confirmed that we will analyze the candidates once they have all the policies. It may be important to closely watch the live exchanges between the candidates." I did.