On September 7, Japanese Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation as LDP president. The LDP quickly finalized the election schedule, announcing the presidential election on September 22 and conducting voting on October 4. The election will be conducted through a “party member participation” voting system, with a total of 590 votes. Each of the 295 LDP members of parliament will receive one vote, while ordinary party members and “party friends” (registered supporters) will each receive a proportional share of the 295 local votes. The candidate who receives a majority of the votes in the first round will be elected; if no candidate secures a majority, the top two candidates will advance to the second round.
The five-person field has been largely determined: former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, current Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, and former Ministers of State for Economic Security Sanae Takaichi and Takayuki Kobayashi. All five ran in the LDP presidential election last September, ultimately losing to Shigeru Ishiba. This election has been mocked by the opposition camp as a “resurrection battle for the losers from a year ago.”
