TOKYO, 20th August, 2024 (WAM) -- Japan's ruling party said Tuesday it will hold a vote on 27th September to choose its new leader who will become the country's new prime minister, the Associated Press reported.
The voting to choose new leader occurs after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's surprise announcement on his resignation last week.
The internal election must be held by the end of September, which marks the end of Kishida's three-year term and will only include the party's parliamentarians and its 1.1 million dues-paying members. The winner will be the head of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the country's prime minister as the party and its smaller coalition partner control Japan's two-chamber parliament.
Last week, Kishida — who took office in October 2021 — said he was bowing out of the race to pave the way for a new leader to form a united LDP to make a fresh start to regain public trust.
Within days of the prime minister's declaration, local media has speculated nearly a dozen possible candidates, with some already announcing their interest in leading a party desperate for public support.
Each candidate needs support from 20 party lawmakers to run, which usually requires time to drum up.