Japan’s LDP Race Commences with Five Hopefuls

(MENAFN) Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) kicked off its leadership race Monday, with five prominent contenders officially entering the race to replace outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Candidates include Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, former Economic Security Ministers Takayuki Kobayashi and Sanae Takaichi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, and former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi. All five also participated in last year’s contest, which drew a record nine contenders.

The race comes amid mounting pressure on the party to rebuild following a string of electoral losses and political funding scandals. Key campaign issues are expected to center on inflation countermeasures, party reform, and potential cooperation with opposition factions.

Candidacy registration opened at 10 a.m. local time at the LDP’s Tokyo headquarters, where each hopeful submitted the required endorsement list from 20 party lawmakers.

The candidates are scheduled to deliver speeches Monday afternoon, launching a full-scale debate ahead of next month’s vote.

According to media, more than 910,000 party members are eligible to vote this year. A total of 590 votes will determine the outcome—295 from LDP Diet members and 295 from party members nationwide. Party members will cast their votes ahead of the Diet ballot on October 4, with results from both pools tallied simultaneously to select the new leader.

Although the ruling coalition has lost its majority in both houses of parliament, analysts believe the new LDP president remains the most probable candidate to become Japan’s next prime minister, given the party’s position as the largest parliamentary bloc.

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