'Trump Whisperer' ex-minister joins Japan PM race

TOKYO - A former top diplomat dubbed the "Trump Whisperer" was the first candidate Monday to join the race to be Japan's next leader, a day after premier Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation.

Former foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi is angling to lead the world's fourth-largest economy as it faces fresh turbulence stemming from rising food prices and fallout from US tariffs on its crucial auto sector.

The long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will elect its new chief, reportedly in early October, after Ishiba said Sunday he would step down after his party faired terribly in two elections.

"We have to move Japan forward, resolving difficult issues at home and abroad," party heavyweight Motegi told reporters. "I have made up my mind to run."

During a turbulent 11 months at the helm, Ishiba -- initially seen as a safe pair of hands -- lost his majority in both houses of parliament, dealing a major blow to the LDP that has governed almost continuously since 1955.

Repeated calls for him to take responsibility for the losses made his position untenable, reports said.

Motegi, a 69-year-old former LDP secretary general who was also trade minister, is among a clutch of contenders likely to emerge in the coming days.

With strong English, the Harvard-educated politician was dubbed the "Trump whisperer" for his deft handling of tricky US-Japan trade talks.

Another candidate is Sanae Takaichi, a 64-year-old hardline nationalist and one-time heavy metal drummer who lost out to Ishiba in 2024. She would be Japan's first woman premier.

Shinjiro Koizumi, 44, the telegenic, surfing son of an ex-premier who was recently tasked with lowering rice prices as Ishiba's farm minister, could also run.

Other hopefuls could include Yoshimasa Hayashi, Ishiba's top government spokesman, and Takayuki Kobayashi, former economic security minister.

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin inside the Diet in Tokyo on March 14, 2025. Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to step down, local media reported on September 7, 2025, as members of his ruling party seek to hold a new leadership race following disastrous upper house election. (Photo by AFP)

Ageing population, national debt

The LDP will discuss when and how to elect its new president this week, a party official told AFP, but the new leader will still need approval from both chambers of parliament to become Japan's prime minister.

There's a slim chance that the LDP president could lose the vote, with the ruling coalition -- made up of the LDP and the Komeito party --  a minority in both houses of parliament.

"The LDP needs to find someone who can unite the party, appeal to the public, but also someone who can gain support from other parties," Kensuke Takayasu, politics professor of Waseda University, told AFP.

Any new leader will have a host of complex issues to tackle including a rapidly ageing population, colossal national debt, and an economy teetering on the brink of recession as inflation pinches consumers.

Despite a new trade deal with President Donald Trump, Japanese imports still face tariffs of 15 percent and Tokyo has promised $550 billion of investments into the US economy.

The close US strategic ally is also under pressure to further hike defence spending and be more muscular in case of confrontation with China over Taiwan.