Overview

• LDP officials fixed the leadership contest timetable with the formal notice on September 22 and voting on October 4.
• Katsunobu Kato said he will not run and agreed to serve as campaign chief for Shinjirō Koizumi, aiming to broaden support inside the party.
• Takanobu Kobayashi formally declared his candidacy, proposing a time‑limited proportional income tax cut for younger and working generations as part of his platform.
• Declared candidate Toshimitsu Motegi pressed for expanding a coalition framework with like‑minded parties and dismissed an immediate consumption‑tax cut as unworkable in the near term.
• Separately, LDP, Komeito and the Constitutional Democrats agreed to set up talks on a refundable tax credit and to continue discussions on a supplementary budget and the gasoline surtax.