TOKYO, October 4. /TASS/. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan will vote on Saturday to elect its new leader, who is almost certain to become the country’s next prime minister.
Five party members are running for the post, but only three of them have a real chance of being elected. The outcome of the party vote remains unclear at this point.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced last month that he was stepping down. He is to formally resign once the new party chair is elected. The new premier is to be approved by the parliament.
Candidates
Five people have registered as candidates: former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, one of late ex-premier Shinzo Abe’s close allies; Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi; current Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi; former Economic Security Minister Takayuki Kobayashi; and the party’s former Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi.
Japanese analysts view Takaichi and Koizumi as the frontrunners, with Hayashi trailing them. Each of the candidates said he would like to see his opponents in his administration in case of victory.
Voting procedure
There are 590 votes up for grabs. Members of the LDP’s parliament faction will cast 295 of them, while rank-and-file members will decide the rest.
Analysts agree that the runoff is inevitable, with none of the candidates having enough support to get the absolute majority in the first round. Takaichi and Koizumi are projected to proceed to the runoff, although recent rumors indicate that Yoshimasa Hayashi has been actively winning support among his party members and may eventually retake Takaichi.
In terms of popular support - which has no direct effect on the outcome of the vote - Takaichi is the frontrunner.
In the July 20 elections, the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito lost its majority in the upper house of parliament. This marks Ishiba’s second major electoral defeat in less than a year. Last fall, the coalition also lost its majority in the more powerful lower house. Although the parties managed to form a minority government by capitalizing on opposition divisions, pressure on Ishiba to resign has grown steadily since then.