Japan ex-defense chief Ishiba says to run for ruling party president

TOTTORI, Japan (Kyodo) -- Former Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Saturday he will run in the ruling party's presidential race in September, in what will be his fifth and "last" attempt to take the helm of the Liberal Democratic Party and the country.

Ishiba, 67, known as a policy expert on security, agriculture and regional revitalization, has lost to Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga in recent party elections, though he did not run in 2021 when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was elected LDP chief.