Ishiba declares his candidacy to replace Kishida as Japan’s leader

Former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Saturday that he would stand for prime minister Fumio Kishida’s successor in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership election on September 27.

In September, Kishida will leave his position as the head of the fourth-largest economy in the world, capping a three-year tenure.

Ishiba recently supported the Bank of Japan’s strategy of gradually raising interest rates in a Reuters interview, arguing that normalizing ultra-loose monetary policy might drive down costs and increase industry competitiveness.