Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi has pledged to carry on the work of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is Liberal Democratic Party president, as well as Ishiba¡¯s predecessor, Fumio Kishida, if he is elected as chief of the ruling party.
¡°I deeply regret and feel sorry for being unable to keep Ishiba¡¯s administration afloat,¡± Hayashi, 64, told a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday. ¡°I will follow their course while adding new initiatives.¡±
He urged the LDP to unite under a common definition of its ¡°conservative¡± platform, in an apparent appeal to party members who prefer a moderate conservative rather than more right-leaning presidential hopefuls such as former economic security ministers Takayuki Kobayashi, 50, and Sanae Takaichi, 64, who also announced her intention to run earlier on Thursday.
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