The favorite in the forthcoming election of the head of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), former Minister for Foreign Affairs and former Minister of Defense, Taro Kono, thanked Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for his support on Saturday
TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2021) The favorite in the forthcoming election of the head of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), former Minister for Foreign Affairs and former Minister of Defense, Taro Kono, thanked Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for his support on Saturday.
"Getting support (from the prime minister) is a plus. This is an election, so I am grateful that many people have supported me," Kono was quoted as saying by Japanese news agency Kyodo.
The election campaign has begun on Friday and will last until the September 29 election day. In addition to Kono, the pool of candidates includes former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, former Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi and LDP's Deputy Secretary General Seiko Noda. For the first time, two women will run for the head of the party.
Kono has already received support from ex-Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who could have become his main rival for the posts of the LDP's leader and the prime minister. Kono has also secured support of another popular politician, Minister of the Environment Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
On Friday evening, Suga supported Kono's candidacy in front of the press, noting his success in vaccinating Japan's population in record time.
The election will take place on September 29. The in-person voting will involve 383 party members who hold seats in parliament. Another 383 ballots from the LDP's regional branches will be unsealed on the same day. To win in the first round, a candidate must receive more than half of 766 votes.
The fact that four candidates are engaged in the race makes a second round plausible to take place. In this case, support of the party members represented in the parliament becomes paramount, since in the second round the same 383 deputies will vote, but there will be only 47 representatives from the regional branches - one per each of Japan's prefectures.
