Kenta Izumi, the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has announced his intention to run for re-election in the upcoming leadership election. The official announcement for the election will be made on Saturday, with voting scheduled to take place on September 23. Izumi will be joining two other candidates who have already declared their bids: former party leader Yukio Edano and former Prime Minister Yoshiko Noda.
During a press conference held at the party’s headquarters, Izumi stated that his party aims to change the government in the next general election and that he will lead them towards that goal. When asked about a potential united front among opposition parties in the House of Representatives election, he expressed his willingness to seek such an alliance but emphasized that he would carefully assess the situation. He also mentioned his desire to examine whether the CDPJ could come into power alone or as part of a coalition government while striving to win more seats than the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Izumi faced challenges in gaining enough support for his candidacy as some members within his own group backed other candidates. This led him to announce his bid just one day before the official announcement of the election.
Having been elected eight times from Kyoto Constituency No. 3, Izumi has a strong base of support within his party. He previously served as parliamentary vice-minister of cabinet office when the Democratic Party of Japan was in power.
Izumi took over as head of CDPJ in November 2021 following their significant loss in House of Representatives elections. Although they also experienced setbacks in House of Councillors elections last year, under Izumi’s leadership, they achieved victories in three House by-elections this April.