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2d ago

Japan’s LDP Sets Oct. 4 Leadership Vote as Ishiba Prepares to Step Down

Facing a diminished majority, the party sets an October 4 ballot that will test whether the winner can command Diet support.

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Japan's outgoing foreign minister and secretary-general of the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Toshimitsu Motegi attends a news conference at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo, Japan November 4, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
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Overview

  • Ishiba said he will resign once the Liberal Democratic Party picks a successor and will remain in office until the handover.
  • LDP committee leaders confirmed the leadership election for October 4, with the party’s election chief outlining a September 22 notice and a 12-day campaign.
  • The voting method is still under debate, with a choice between a full party-member ballot and a faster emergency process that would concentrate influence among party elites.
  • The field includes Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi as leading contenders, Toshimitsu Motegi as the first declared candidate, and likely bids from Yoshimasa Hayashi and Takayuki Kobayashi, with Katsunobu Kato and Kono Taro also mentioned.
  • Because the LDP-Komeito coalition lacks a lower-house majority, the new party leader is likely to become prime minister only with support from opposition lawmakers.