Nine candidates are vying for leadership of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), with Shinjiro Koizumi and Sanae Takaichi emerging as frontrunners. The winner will automatically become Prime Minister, potentially leading to Japan's youngest leader or first female PM.
Japan 's ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership election candidates preparing to give speeches at the party headquarters in Tokyo on Sept 12.
Pundits have named as front runners five-term lawmaker and former environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi, 43, as well as nine-term lawmaker and incumbent economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, 63. LDP coalition partner Komeito is likewise undergoing a leadership change on Sept 28, as chief Natsuo Yamaguchi, 72, hands over the reins to his No. 2, Mr Keiichi Ishii, 66.
The LDP has made no secret that whoever is victorious will be the party’s “face of the elections”. So, although the public does not have a direct say in the Sept 27 vote, LDP lawmakers will likely have an eye on how the PM hopefuls fare in opinion polls. Mr Ishiba is on his fifth and, he says, final bid for the top job. He is highly personable and popular – and a Reuters poll of Japan Inc published on Sept 12 showed he is the– but may struggle to win votes from LDP lawmakers as a long-time foe of Mr Abe, while he is still seen as having betrayed the party for having once quit in 1993 before rejoining in 1997.
Ultimately, observers are watching if the LDP can, through the 15-day campaign, demonstrate a clean break from its scandal-ridden, faction-driven past. They were confirmed as nominees having secured the requisite 20 endorsements from fellow LDP parliamentarians.
Japan LDP Leadership Election Shinjiro Koizumi Sanae Takaichi Fumio Kishida General Election
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