Japan Ruling LDP Planning Leadership Poll for Sept. 20

June 22, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is planning a leadership election for Sept. 20, 10 days before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reaches the end of his three-year term as LDP president, party executives said Friday.

Abe is ready to seek a third term in the race. In March 2017, the party revised its rules to raise the maximum number of consecutive terms for its president to three from two.

Unlike in the uncontested 2015 poll, Abe is expected to have challengers this time.

Former Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba, who has served in defense and other ministerial posts, and Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda have shown readiness to run.

Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, chairman of the party's Policy Research Council, is also considering joining the race.

Abe is scheduled to attend an annual Eastern Economic Forum meeting in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East on Sept. 11-13. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been invited to the conference.

Abe seems eager to take advantage of the opportunity to boost his chances in the party race, observers said.

If reelected, Abe would remain as prime minister and attend a U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York in late September. He would carry out a cabinet reshuffle and form a new party executive team after returning home.

In November 2019, Abe would be the longest-serving prime minister in Japan, beating the current record holder, Taro Katsura, who was in office for a total of 2,886 days between June 1901 and February 1913. Jiji Press