On Friday, former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi made clear that he will call a snap election as soon as possible if chosen as the Liberal Democratic Party’s next leader in the most crowded presidential election in the history of the party.

“In order for the party to genuinely transform, we mustn’t choose a leader who (only) advocates for reform, but rather one who can overwhelmingly expedite that reform,” he told a news conference Friday to announce his first bid for the party presidency.

“I would like to seek the people’s trust in my plan to change the country,” Koizumi said, voicing his sense of urgency about the current state of the country and its politics.