Former Cabinet minister Takayuki Kobayashi is the first to officially declare his candidacy in what is expected to be a crowded field in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election, scheduled to be held in September.

The 49-year-old former minister for economic security made the announcement at a news conference in the Diet building on Aug. 19, ahead of other “post-Kishida” candidates.

They will be vying to replace Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who decided not to run for re-election. 

“The LDP will be reborn," Kobayashi said. "I want to show our renewed party to party members and the people.”

The ruling party is making final plans to kick off campaigning in the election on Sept. 12 with voting and vote counting to be held on Sept. 27.

Kobayashi is not widely known to the public, as he was elected only four times as a Lower House lawmaker.

QUICK RISER IN THE RANKS

Kobayashi graduated from the University of Tokyo where he belonged to the rowing club, serving as its captain. 

He started working for the Finance Ministry in 1999 and aimed for becoming a lawmaker in 2010, when the LDP was a major opposition party.

He sent a letter to Sadakazu Tanigaki, then LDP president, and met with him.

Tanigaki reported that Kobayashi told him that Japan’s presence in the world is shrinking. 

Kobayashi became the head of the branch of the Lower House Chiba No. 2 electoral district through official recruitment of the party. He was elected as a Lower House lawmaker for the first time in 2012 when the LDP reclaimed its position as the ruling party.

Kobayashi is seen as a “pragmatist” within the party.

He advocated for the need for economic security policies from an early stage.

Kobayashi oversaw discussions of economic security policies as the head of the Strategic Headquarters on the Creation of a New International Order under the Policy Research Council.

He deepened his ties with Akira Amari, the LDP's former secretary-general, who served as the chairman of the research council at that time.

Kobayashi's experience was highly valued by Kishida and he was appointed as the first economic security minister in the Kishida Cabinet, which was inaugurated in the fall of 2021.

The “grade skipping” appointment of Kobayashi, who had been elected as a lawmaker only three times and without the experience of serving as a vice minister or a division director of the party, was believed to come at Amari's recommendation.

CONTROVERSY AND CONSERVATIVE LEANINGS

Kobayashi acknowledges himself as a conservative and was listed as one of those who nominated Sanae Takaichi, who had the backing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in the 2021 LDP presidential election.

In joint surveys conducted by The Asahi Shimbun and the research lab of professor Masaki Taniguchi at the University of Tokyo, Kobayashi answered “disagree” to issues such as allowing married couples to have separate surname and same-sex marriages in 2017, and “relatively disagree” in 2021.

In terms of the controversy over party member's ties to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as the Unification Church, Kobayashi said he gave a greeting speech at its meetings and sent congratulatory telegrams in the past.

But he said he has neither asked for support in his elections, nor received funding from the religious organization.

Kobayashi has already secured the minimum of 20 endorsements needed to run in the LDP's presidential election.

Kobayashi's support stems from younger and middle-aged politicians from a broad cross-section of the party, who are seeking a sense of renewal within the LDP.

Some lawmakers from the now-disbanded Abe faction also nominated him.

Meanwhile, regarding the LDP's slush fund scandal, Kobayashi said, “If we go too far in disciplinary measures, we cannot continue operations” and urged improved treatment for those who were involved.

This remark caused a backlash within the party against him.

One of the potential candidates in the LDP presidential race said, “his comment is completely different from that of public opinion.”

In the news conference on Aug. 19, Kobayashi said, “Our party has lost the public's trust. I can’t find any words to apologize for it,” regarding the slush fund scandal.