Japan’s Ruling Party Set to Elect Yoshihide Suga as Abe’s Successor

By Kyodo News 14 September 2020

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Monday is set to elect Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga as its new president and ultimately Japan’s new leader to replace outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In a vote at a meeting of LDP lawmakers of both chambers of parliament, Suga is expected to secure a comfortable victory over his two rivals—Shigeru Ishiba, a former defense minister, and Fumio Kishida, a former foreign minister—as a majority of the LDP’s factions have backed the top government spokesman since Abe said last month he would step down for health reasons.

Read more.