Race to succeed Shigeru Ishiba: Who will be Japan's next PM? A look at the frontrunners

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a press conference in Tokyo on September 7, 2025.

With Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stepping down, the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership contest has already drawn some of its most recognisable figures into the spotlight. Former foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi was the first to formally declare his candidacy. Speaking to reporters, he said, “The LDP is facing its worst crisis since its founding. We must unite quickly to tackle our serious challenges at home and abroad and move the country forward.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi also intends to run, according to a government source cited by Reuters, adding to what could be a crowded field.

The two figures seen as leading the pack are Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi, who both placed strongly in last year’s leadership contest behind Ishiba.

Takaichi, 64, is a veteran conservative with a long record in cabinet posts. If chosen, she would become Japan’s first female prime minister. She is known for advocating revisions to Japan’s pacifist postwar constitution and for her frequent visits to the Yasukuni shrine, which some of Japan’s Asian neighbours regard as a reminder of past militarism. Takaichi has been outspoken in her criticism of Bank of Japan interest rate hikes and has pushed for increased spending to strengthen the fragile economy.

Koizumi, 44, is the current farm minister and the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. A graduate of Columbia University, he is considered a reformist and would become Japan’s youngest modern-era leader if selected.

“All indications are that it will come down to them facing off against each other,” Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies, told Reuters.

Because the LDP has lost its majorities in both chambers of parliament, there is also a theoretical path for an opposition leader to take power. Among those mentioned are Yoshihiko Noda, a former prime minister now leading the Constitutional Democratic Party, and Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People, who has called for tax cuts, stronger defence and more nuclear energy.