Japan's ruling party sets leadership race for Sept 27

TOKYO: Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) decided Tuesday to hold its presidential election on Sept 27 to select a successor to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, while also defining a 15-day campaign period starting on Sept 12, Kyodo News reported.

The upcoming contest, the first since 2021 when Kishida was elected party chief, is currently expected to see 11 candidates vie for the party's top job, with the winner set to be anointed prime minister, given that the ruling parties control both houses of parliament.

Kishida's abrupt announcement last week that he will not seek re-election has prompted a wide field of LDP figures to consider running, with the winner tasked with restoring trust in the party, which has been eroded by discontent over members' links to the controversial Unification Church and a long-running political funds scandal.

Kishida's three-year term as LDP president expires at the end of September.

The LDP decided to extend the campaigning period from the 12 days of the 2021 contest to 15 days this time, in an apparent bid to improve transparency in hopes of restoring public trust in the party.

Around the same time, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, currently led by Kenta Izumi, is scheduled to hold its own leadership election, with campaigning set to begin on Sept 7 and voting on Sept 23.

Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi on Monday became the first to throw his hat into the ring for the LDP presidency, with the 49-year-old conservative vowing to break free of the LDP's intraparty faction dynamics.

The popular former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed confidence he can secure the backing of at least 20 party members, clearing the threshold to run in the race. He is expected to decide on his candidacy soon.

While Ishiba's past four attempts to become LDP leader fell flat, a Kyodo News poll released Monday showed he was the most favoured to succeed Kishida, followed by former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Sanae Takaichi, the minister in charge of economic security.

Kobayashi and the 43-year-old Koizumi both could present themselves as figures of generational change for the LDP as it looks to break from its recent troubles.

Japan's top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi, Digital Minister Taro Kono, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, and Industry Minister Ken Saito are among the prominent members of Kishida's Cabinet who are seen as likely to enter the race.

--BERNAMA-KYODO

TAGS: Japan, LDP, Prime Minister, Presidential, Election