Koike joins Japan leadership race
A former defence minister has announced she would try to become Japan's first female prime minister, as candidates made it clear that rejuvenating the world's second-largest economy would be the focus of the upcoming election battle.
Yuriko Koike, a former TV anchorwoman, vowed to push ahead with economic reforms started by her protege, former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, under whom she also served as environment minister.
"The key word of my policy is reform," Ms Koike told reporters at ruling Liberal Democratic Party headquarters where she announced she would run for the party's presidency "thanks to the support of my fellow party members".
Ms Koike - also the first woman to run for LDP president - is one of seven politicians intending to compete in the September 22 vote.
The winner is all but guaranteed to be elected in parliament to succeed prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, who announced his resignation last week. The new government is expected to then call snap parliamentary elections by the end of the year.
The country's limping economy has emerged as the top campaign issue. The economy shrank in the second quarter, effectively ending a six-year expansion, and inflation is flaring as fuel and food prices rise.
The opposition is also making a pitch to voters on bread-and-butter issues.
Ichiro Ozawa became the de facto leader of the Democratic Party of Japan when no one challenged his re-election, to be confirmed without a ballot September 21. He pledged a raft of populist measures, such as special payouts to families with children and repairing the pension system.
In the ruling party, the battle focused largely on how to buoy the economy and avoid a recession.