Key Facts
• LDP set leadership election for October 4, 2025, during an emergency meeting on September 10.
• Former Secretary-General Toshimitsu Mogi was the first to announce his candidacy.
• Mogi pledged multi-trillion yen social support exceeding previous measures.
• His policies focus on wage increases and special local grants to counter inflation.
• Mogi emphasized the LDP’s current crisis as the party faces its greatest challenge since its founding.
• He first entered parliament in 1993 under the Japan New Party during the “new party boom.”
• Mogi has held key roles, including Secretary-General and Foreign Minister, since joining the LDP.
• He hinted at forming coalitions with opposition parties like the Japan Innovation Party and Democratic Party for the People.
• Mogi’s 2024 leadership bid placed 6th out of 9 candidates; this marks his second attempt.
• Other potential candidates, such as Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi, have yet to confirm their intentions.
Summary
Toshimitsu Mogi, former Secretary-General of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has officially declared his candidacy for the party’s leadership election scheduled for October 4, 2025. Mogi, the first to announce his bid, aims to address inflation by introducing unprecedented multi-trillion yen social support measures and special local grants to boost wages. Highlighting the LDP’s current challenges, he called for a stronger coalition framework, potentially involving opposition parties like the Japan Innovation Party and Democratic Party for the People. This marks Mogi’s second attempt at the leadership, following a 6th-place finish in 2024. Other potential candidates, including Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi, have yet to confirm their participation.
