Japan’s new prime minister will be officially elected by parliament on October 1 following the ruling party’s leadership contest set for September 27, a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) official revealed on Wednesday (September 18). The winner of the internal party vote will almost certainly become the next prime minister, as the LDP holds a strong majority in parliament.
Yasukazu Hamada, an LDP lawmaker responsible for parliamentary affairs, informed his opposition counterpart of the plan to convene a session on October 1 for the prime minister’s election, a party official confirmed to AFP. The opposition has accepted this date, and a formal government announcement is expected on Monday, according to media reports.
Fumio Kishida, 67, is stepping down after a three-year term marked by scandals, public dissatisfaction with rising prices, and declining approval ratings. Nine candidates are competing to replace him as head of the LDP, with three frontrunners emerging in the polls.
These frontrunners include Sanae Takaichi, 63, the conservative economic security minister, Shigeru Ishiba, 67, a former LDP secretary-general, and Shinjiro Koizumi, 43, the son of former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi. Koizumi would be Japan’s youngest-ever prime minister, while Takaichi, a staunch nationalist, could become the country’s first woman leader.
Takaichi, who regularly visits the controversial Yasukuni Shrine—honouring Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals—could provoke tensions with nations such as China and the Koreas, who were victims of Japan’s wartime aggression.
In the leadership race, the LDP’s 367 parliament members will cast their votes, while an additional 367 votes will be determined by the preferences of the party’s rank-and-file members and supporters. Polls have put Takaichi, Ishiba, and Koizumi ahead, but the ultimate outcome remains uncertain.
