LDP Leadership Election Set for Sept. 20

August 21, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided Tuesday to hold a presidential election on Sept. 20, the first contest for the party's leadership in six years.

The election is likely to be a one-on-one battle between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who will run for a third straight term, and former Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba.

The party's General Council approved the schedule decided by the presidential election board.

The party will accept applications from candidates on Sept. 7, marking the start of the campaign period.

Abe won his second three-year term without contest in the previous 2015 election.

Candidates will vie for a total of 810 votes--405 votes of national lawmakers and the same number of regional votes to be counted based on ballots cast by party members and supporters.

The term of the winner is set to continue until September 2021, beyond the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

The winner will be the LDP's face in the unified local elections in spring next year and the House of Councillors election in summer that year.

Ishiba has already declared his intention to run. Abe is expected to announce his candidacy by the end of this month.

Internal affairs minister Seiko Noda has expressed her wish to join the race. But she is struggling to win nominations from 20 party lawmakers, the minimum required for candidacy.

So far, Abe is believed to have secured support from over 70 pct of the 405 lawmaker votes, informed sources said.

He has won an endorsement from five LDP factions, including the one led by former Secretary-General Hiroyuki Hosoda with 94 members and the one headed by Finance Minister Taro Aso with 59 members, the sources also said.

Key campaign issues are likely to be the prime minister's Abenomics economic policy mix and constitutional revisions.

Another focus will be how to improve political leadership amid continued public distrust in politics due to a series of favoritism allegations against the Abe administration. Jiji Press