Former economic security minister Kobayashi Takayuki, who declared on Monday his candidacy in the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election, is 49 years old.
In his fourth term in the Lower House, Kobayashi belonged to the now-defunct faction led by former secretary-general Nikai Toshihiro. Kobayashi will be running for the party presidential race for the first time.
He is set to become the first lawmaker in 15 years to run in the race while in his 40s. Kono Taro and Nishimura Yasutoshi were both 46 when they made their presidency bids in 2009.
Kobayashi joined the Finance Ministry in 1999 after graduating from the University of Tokyo.
He reportedly decided to join the world of politics while on assignment at the Japanese embassy in Washington DC after being hit by a sense of crisis that Japan’s significance in the international arena was declining.
Kobayashi is said to have written a long letter to then party president, Tanigaki Sadakazu, expressing his eagerness to run for a seat in the Diet as an LDP candidate.
He won his first seat in the House of Representatives in 2012. After serving in posts, including the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense, he was tapped for economic security minister as a member of the Kishida Fumio cabinet in 2021. He joined the cabinet for the first time in his third term.
Kobayashi is seen a promising young party member who is well-informed in policies, such as economic security; intellectual property strategy; as well as technology, science and innovation.
He was also a senior member of the Committee on the Constitution of the lower house and involved in discussions to amend Japan’s Constitution.
Kobayashi is known to foster conservative political beliefs, and supported Economic Security Minister Takaichi Sanae during the previous LDP presidency race.
Kobayashi says he is committed to building a Japan that leads the world. He has been calling on the need to expand national strength through economic growth and security, and for this to happen, he attaches importance to innovation and education as a foundation.
He said he wants to take the helm of the country one day, expressing his intention openly to aim to become the prime minister in the future.
Before Prime Minister Kishida Fumio announced he would not to run for the party’s presidential election, there had been calls for Kobayashi to run as a candidate, mainly from relatively middle-ranking and young LDP members, but he avoided clearly expressing his intention to run until Monday.