Japan ruling party leadership race kicks off
TOKYO
Former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech at the kick-off of the campaign for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election in Tokyo.
The leadership contest for Japan's ruling party kicked off Monday, with five candidates vying to become the country's fourth prime minister in as many years.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba threw in the towel on Sept. 7 after a string of poor election results for the long-dominant but ailing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Of the five contenders who filed their papers on Monday ahead of an Oct. 4 party vote, Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi are the favorites, polls suggest.
Takaichi, 64, who would be Japan's first woman premier, is seen as a hardline nationalist while Agriculture Minister Koizumi, 44, is the telegenic son of an ex-premier.
The others are Toshimitsu Motegi, 69, a former top diplomat with a reputation as a tough trade negotiator; Yoshimasa Hayashi, 64, the top government spokesman in Ishiba's cabinet with large ministerial experience; and former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, 50.
The candidates will be formally approved before each of them gives a policy speech at LDP headquarters on Monday, election committee head Ichiro Aisawa said.
The LDP has governed Japan for all but four years since it was launched in 1955.
