Japan’s Would-Be Leaders Ignore the Call to Invest in Stocks

Candidates for the LDP’s leadership election, Takayuki Kobayashi, from left, Toshimitsu Motegi, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi.Photographer: Eugene Hoshiko/AP/Bloomberg

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September 30, 2025 at 11:10 PM UTC

The two frontrunners in the race to head Japan’s ruling party have shunned the government’s push for more people to invest in the nation’s stock market.

Neither Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi nor right-leaning lawmaker Sanae Takaichi, the top polling candidates for leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party, hold investments in equity or any other securities, according to their offices. The winner of the Oct. 4 contest will almost certainly be chosen as Japan’s next prime minister to replace Shigeru Ishiba.