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[global times special correspondent in japan liu lin, global times reporter xing xiaojing] the japanese liberal democratic party presidential election management committee released the election notice on the 12th. on the morning of the same day, the nine candidate camps each submitted a list of 20 ldp parliamentary nominees and an application for candidacy. on the afternoon of the same day, the nine candidates attended the press conference and delivered speeches. kyodo news reported on the 12th that the nine candidates set a record for the largest number of candidates in history.

rebirth after the “black gold” scandal?

according to reports, as the liberal democratic party faces headwinds due to the "black money" scandal, candidates will increase publicity opportunities and win back public support by holding speeches and debates in local areas before the election counting begins on september 27. the 15-day election campaign is also the longest since the current presidential election regulations were established in 1995.

on the 12th, the japanese liberal democratic party headquarters held a policy speech event in tokyo. nine candidates attended the press conference and delivered speeches. (visual china)

according to a report by nippon television on the 12th, the "black money" scandal became the main reason for the kishida fumio cabinet to announce its resignation. how to restore the public's trust and what kind of economic policies to launch will become the main points of contention in this presidential election. incumbent minister of economic security sanae takaichi said in her speech, "the first thing we must do is to be reborn as a liberal democratic party that the public can firmly trust." former secretary-general of the liberal democratic partyishiba shigeruhe said, "if i become president, i will do my best to perform my duties until the people are satisfied. i will build a liberal democratic party that believes in the people, a liberal democratic party that is trusted by the people, and a liberal democratic party that creates the future."

many candidates hinted at "changing" japan in their speeches. former environment minister shinjiro koizumi said, "the reason i am standing here now is because i have an increasingly strong sense of crisis. if i don't overwhelmingly increase the intensity and speed of political decision-making, it will be too late. i want to become prime minister and change japanese politics that has been left behind by the changing times." former minister of economic security takayuki kobayashi said, "we will create a japan where the people can feel their dreams and hopes, a japan that leads the world. we will create a truly independent japan that is not influenced by the trends of other countries." foreign minister yoko kamikawa said, "if i become prime minister or president, i will not avoid difficult issues. i will build a new japan together with the japanese people. let us create a new pattern for japan together."

nine candidates show their talents

it is reported that the candidates will compete for a total of 734 votes, including votes from ldp members of parliament (367 votes) and ldp party members (367 votes). the candidate who receives more than half of the votes will be elected as the president of the ldp. if no candidate receives more than half of the votes in the first round of voting, the top two candidates will enter the second round of voting. given that the ldp is currently the ruling party in japan and controls the house of representatives. according to convention, after the new president of the ldp is elected, he will be elected as the new prime minister of japan in a parliamentary vote. kyodo news analyzed that due to the large number of candidates, it is very likely that the top two will hold a runoff vote. with the expectation of dissolving the house of representatives soon, the new president will become the "face of the election" of the ldp.

in order to cheer themselves up, the nine candidates showed their abilities. according to a report by japan jiji press on the 12th, shinjiro koizumi visited the hie shrine near the diet that morning and prayed for "election victory"; sanae takaichi also visited the shrine and talked about the late former japanese prime minister shinzo abe, who supported her in the last ldp presidential election, saying "he taught me a lot and how to fight." former chief cabinet secretary katsunobu kato visited the grave of his father-in-law, former minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries kato rokutsuki, in tokyo, saying "i expressed to him my determination to fight to the end in the presidential election and hope that (the late father-in-law) can guide me."

yoko kamikawa wore a white shirt and said, "i want to wear white clothes on this day and write the thoughts and wishes of the legislators, party members and the people on the white canvas. i hope to spend this day with this mood." chief cabinet secretary yoshimasa hayashi launched the slogan "running with the mentality of 'wind, forest, fire and mountain'." he explained, "we have always been as quiet as the forest, but from now on, we must be as fast as the wind, as fierce as the fire, and as still and unwavering as the mountain."

a lot of focus

japan's mainichi shimbun commented on the 12th that how to deal with the "black money" scandal in the next election will test all candidates, and the debate will also cover issues such as how to improve the transparency of political funds. factional power can play a role in previous elections, and how the votes will be divided after the dissolution of the factions is worth paying attention to.

in addition, "generational change" is also one of the concerns of this election. when shinzo abe was first elected as the president of the liberal democratic party in september 2006, he was only 51 years old, making him the youngest president of the liberal democratic party elected in japan since the war. if 49-year-old kobayashi takayuki or 43-year-old koizumi shinjiro wins, they will break this record held by shinzo abe to this day.

kyodo news said that in the upcoming election debate, the main topic is expected to be party reform and political reform in light of the kickback incident. the political funds control law, which was revised during the regular diet, still has some issues, including how to deal with policy activity funds that are distributed to party officials without the need to disclose their purpose.

regarding economic policy, many candidates focus on economic growth as people are suffering from rising prices. in addition, they need to answer whether they will consider fiscal discipline. whether to relax layoff restrictions to promote labor market mobility may also become a point of contention.