Japan’s ruling party to hold elections in late September

Tokyo, Aug 26 (EFE).- The ruling party of Japan decided on Thursday to hold its internal elections on Sep. 29 to choose its leader and candidate for the next general elections in Japan with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as favorite to win the leadership.

Currently, Suga is president of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) but his mandate will end on Sep. 30.

The party decided to convene its internal elections a day before the end of Suga’s mandate in a meeting held on Thursday, in which Suga and other senior party officials participated.

Whoever is elected to lead the LDP will also be the party’s candidate for the next general elections in Japan, which must be convened before Nov. 30.

Suga, who has already said he will run for re-election, would have the backing of the party’s top heavyweights, including the LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai and the most important factions within the party.

But the prime minister’s public approval rating has sunk to around 30 percent as a result of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the decision to go ahead with the Olympic Games despite the health crisis, among other reasons.

In this scenario, other LDP members are expected to present their candidacy for the post including former interior minister, Sanae Takaichi, former minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, Hakubun Shimomura, and former foreign minister, Fumio Kishida.

Campaigning for the internal elections of the Japanese conservative party will kick off on Sep. 17, the party decided in its meeting on Thursday. EFE

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