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Fumio Kishida elected as new leader of Japan’s ruling party and to be 100th PM

Kishida gained 257 out of 427 votes in the second round

Fumio Kishida EPA-EFE/MARTIN DIVISEK

Fumio Kishida

© EPA-EFE/MARTIN DIVISEK

TOKYO, September 29. /TASS/. Japan’s former prime minister Fumio Kishida won the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in the second round of voting and will become the next Prime Minister, according to the official data published on the party's website.

Kishida gained 257 out of 427 votes in the second round, giving him the win. His opponent, former Foreign Minister and Defense Minister Taro Kono gained 170 votes. Kishida became the new leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and will soon be the 100th Prime Minister of Japan in succession.

Fumio Kishida won the elections by a margin of votes from the LDP parliamentarians, although Taro Kono had greater support among rank-and-file party members in the regions.

Apart from Taro Kono and Fumio Kishida, Sanae Takaichi and Seiko Nodal, who previously held a number of ministerial posts, took part in Japan’s presidential election. However, they didn’t garner sufficient votes in the first round and dropped out of the race. A session of Parliament to endorse the elected head of government is expected to be held on October 4.

The election of the LDP leader was held as the term of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was expiring. He took over this post in 2020 due to the sudden resignation of Shinzo Abe. Suga refused to participate in the polls, explaining that he wanted to devote the rest of his term to combating COVID-19.

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