Hawkish Takaichi joins race to be Japan’s next PM
Published: 03:09 PM,Sep 08,2021 | EDITED : 07:09 PM,Sep 08,2021
Sanae Takaichi
TOKYO: Sanae Takaichi, one of Japan’s few prominent female politicians, announced on Wednesday she will run for head of the ruling party as it seeks new leadership before a general election. The race to lead the Liberal Democratic Party was thrown wide open after its current head, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, said he would not run.
Takaichi — a hawkish nationalist who has held several ministerial positions — is only the second politician to declare she will stand in the September 29 party vote, along with former foreign minister Fumio Kishida.
Whoever wins will become prime minister and take the LDP into a general election that must be called in October and held no later than November.
“With the responsibility to protect Japan and the determination to open the way for the future, I, Sanae Takaichi, announce my candidacy’’, she told reporters. The 60-year-old vowed improvements in a wide range of sectors, from education to defence and disaster management.
And she raised the possibility of allowing stricter anti-virus measures in Japan, which has so far avoided blanket stay-at-home orders.
— Reuters
Takaichi — a hawkish nationalist who has held several ministerial positions — is only the second politician to declare she will stand in the September 29 party vote, along with former foreign minister Fumio Kishida.
Whoever wins will become prime minister and take the LDP into a general election that must be called in October and held no later than November.
“With the responsibility to protect Japan and the determination to open the way for the future, I, Sanae Takaichi, announce my candidacy’’, she told reporters. The 60-year-old vowed improvements in a wide range of sectors, from education to defence and disaster management.
And she raised the possibility of allowing stricter anti-virus measures in Japan, which has so far avoided blanket stay-at-home orders.
— Reuters