Takaichi joins race to be Japan's first woman leader

Japanese political hawk and strident China critic Sanae Takaichi on Thursday said she will run in the ruling party's leadership election, a campaign that could make her the country's first woman prime minister.

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Seen among the favourites in the race, Takaichi will be up against popular agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who is expected to formally declare Friday that he will stand.

Both are aiming to succeed moderate Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a party vote slated for October 4. "What we need now is politics that transforms people's daily lives and anxieties about the future into hopes and dreams," Takaichi said in a brief media address Thursday, announcing her candidacy.

"And it is also strong politics that will overcome the crisis Japan faces," she said.

Takaichi, 64, is a staunchly hawkish leader who has advocated for a conservative social agenda and robust national defence programmes.

On the economic front, she has pushed big government spending and low interest rates that echo policies of her political mentor late former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

She was also a regular visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours Japan's war dead including war criminals and is seen by Asian nations as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.

On China, she has been vocal on Beijing's military buildup in the Asia-Pacific region.