ISTANBUL

Japanese Farm Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Saturday launched his bid to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), pledging to revive the economy and restore the party’s strength after its defeat in July’s upper house election.

Koizumi, 44, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, became the fifth -- and expected final -- candidate in the October leadership race to succeed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who announced his resignation earlier this month after the coalition’s defeat in July’s upper house elections. Campaigning will begin Monday.

A Jiji Press survey of 2,000 voters placed Koizumi ahead with 23.8% support, followed by conservative rival Sanae Takaichi at 21%. The other contenders are Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, and former Economic Security Minister Takayuki Kobayashi.

“The LDP is in a crisis,” Koizumi told supporters, pledging to make economic measures his “top priority” and to push wage growth above rising living costs. He promised to raise the average annual salary by 1 million yen ($6,800) by fiscal 2030 and to draft an economic package in a supplementary budget for the current year through March.

Koizumi said he would widen dialogue with opposition parties and review the coalition framework, while also addressing public unease over foreign residents and tourism with a new “action plan.”

On foreign policy, he promised to strengthen ties with Washington, saying he sought to take Japan’s partnership with the US to “new heights” by deepening trust with President Donald Trump, while stressing that trilateral cooperation with South Korea is “especially vital.”

Takaichi, who entered the race Friday, also focused on economic pledges, vowing to “boost the economy through responsible, aggressive and wise spending.”

“Japan is back,” she declared, adding: “Without brightness, there is no future. Without safety, it is not Japan. Let’s put Japan back on top of the world.”

The LDP leadership vote, originally scheduled for 2027, was moved forward after Ishiba announced his resignation on Sept. 7. He will remain prime minister until the party selects a new leader -- a post that in Japan automatically carries the premiership.