Japan's ruling party leaders gear up to succeed PM Yoshihide Suga
Sep 04, 2021
Tokyo [Japan], September 4 : Japan's ruling party leaders have geared up to become the successor of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga after the latter's abrupt decision to pull out of his party's presidential election at the end of September, a media report said on Saturday.
On Friday, Suga said that he won't run in the upcoming Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) next election saying that he wants to focus on curbing the coronavirus spread, reported Japan's NHK World.
Suga's decision meant that he will soon step down as prime minister as his LDP president's term at the end of September.
Now, the LDP party leaders are in a race to be a successor of Suga.
Japan's former foreign minister Kishida Fumio has declared his intentions to run. He met online with prefectural assembly members in Okinawa and asked for their support, NHK World said.
Former internal affairs minister Takaichi Sanae has also shown her interest to contest the presidential election.
Ishiba Shigeru, former defence minister, also reached out to other lawmakers in an attempt to gauge the situation within the party.
LDP presidential election campaigning is set to start on September 17. After a voting procedure, the result will be declared on September 29, according to NHK World.
