After Yoshihiko Shiota's Resignation, Japan's LDP Presidential Election Features Five Candidates in "Comeback Battle"

The presidential election of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will be held in early October. As of September 13, five candidates have expressed their intention to run,初步 forming a competitive landscape. According to media reports, the election is currently in a "free-for-all" stage, and the number of "local votes" each candidate obtains will be key to victory.

Following the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister and LDP President Yoshihiko Shiota on September 7, the LDP announced that it would issue the party presidential election notice on September 22 and conduct voting and ballot counting on October 4.

In recent days, five LDP members have stated they will join the race for the new president. Among them, Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi announced on September 13 that he would run in the LDP presidential election. Former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi officially declared his candidacy on the 8th. Additionally, current Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former Minister of Economic Security Sanae Takaichi, and Takayuki Kobayashi have all confirmed their intentions to run.

All five candidates participated in last September's LDP presidential election and ultimately lost to Yoshihiko Shiota. The opposition camp has thus mocked the new party presidential election as a "comeback battle for last year's losers."

The total number of votes in this election is 590. Among them, 295 LDP Diet members each hold one vote, while ordinary party members and registered supporters ("party friends") from various regions are proportionally converted into 295 local votes. A candidate who receives more than half of the votes in the first round will be elected; if no one achieves a majority, the top two candidates will advance to a second round of voting. The distribution of local votes will be crucial to victory.

In the Japanese House of Councillors election held in July this year, the ruling coalition composed of the LDP and Komeito lost its majority of seats. Under internal party pressure, Yoshihiko Shiota resigned to take responsibility. However, a poll released by Kyodo News on the 12th showed that 76.4% of respondents believed Shiota's resignation would not help restore public trust in the LDP.