Japan's LDP Leadership Race Kicks Off with Five Candidates
(MENAFN) Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) officially kicked off its leadership race on Monday, with five contenders vying to succeed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who resigned earlier this month.
The candidates include former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, and former economic security ministers Sanae Takaichi and Takayuki Kobayashi. All five had also participated in last year’s election, which saw a record nine candidates.
The leadership contest is expected to revolve around key issues such as fostering cooperation with opposition parties, addressing economic challenges like rising prices, and revamping the party following a series of election setbacks and political funding scandals.
The election, set for October 4, will be decided in an initial round of voting comprising 590 votes: 295 from LDP lawmakers and 295 distributed proportionally among party members and registered supporters. A candidate securing a majority in this round will be named the new party president. If no majority is reached, the top two finishers will face off in a runoff.
After the LDP selects its new president, a parliamentary vote will designate Japan's next prime minister. Despite the ruling coalition’s failure to secure a majority in either house of parliament, the new LDP leader is expected to assume the prime minister’s role, given the party's dominance.
This leadership race comes amid significant challenges for the LDP. The number of eligible voting members has dwindled to approximately 915,600, a reduction of more than 140,000 from the last contest. Analysts point to a party rule requiring two years of paid membership for voting eligibility, alongside the aftermath of a political funding scandal, as factors contributing to the decline in grassroots support.
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