Race For Japan's New Ruling Party Leader Kicks Off With 4 Candidates Running

Race for Japan's New Ruling Party Leader Kicks Off With 4 Candidates Running

Campaign for the Japanese ruling party's leadership election to choose the successor to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially kicked off on Friday, with four candidates vying for the leader position in an unusually close race, according to the press conference broadcast live on Youtube

TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2021) Campaign for the Japanese ruling party's leadership election to choose the successor to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially kicked off on Friday, with four candidates vCampaign for the Japanese ruling party's leadership election to choose the successor to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially kicked off on Friday, with four candidates vying for the leader position in an unusually close race, according to the press conference broadcast live on Youtubeying for the leader position in an unusually close race, according to the press conference broadcast live on Youtube.

The race for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership comes after Yoshihide Suga, whose approval ratings tanked as a result of the government ineffectual pandemic response, announced that he would not seek reelection after just a year in the position.

The Liberal Democratic Party election is set for September 29 and is being contested by former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Vaccination Minister Taro Kono and, for the first time, by two women - former Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi and executive acting Secretary-General of the LDP Seiko Noda.

While Taro Kono, who is popular for his reform-minded policies, leads public opinion polls, the result is far from clear-cut because his main competitor Kishida is expected to enjoy support from veteran lawmakers who are uncomfortable with Kono's reformist ideas.

If no candidate gains an outright majority in the first round of election, the top two contenders will compete in a runoff involving 383 lawmakers and one party representative from each of Japan's 47 regions.

Since the factions aren't endorsing anyone officially, it is impossible to predict the outcome of the election.

The parliamentary vote on the candidacy of the new prime minister will be cast on October 4.

Yoshihide Suga was appointed prime minister a year ago, when long-serving Shinzo Abe stepped down over health concerns. Amid growing dissatisfaction with his government's handling of COVID-19 in the wake of the Tokyo Olympics, Suga said he would not seek re-election as party leader at the end of September, paving the way for a new Liberal Democrat Party leader to be elected.