TOKYO: Former Japanese internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi, 64, and Farm Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, 44, have advanced to a run-off vote to decide the next leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Saturday (Oct 4).
The winner is expected to replace Shigeru Ishiba as prime minister since the LDP remains the largest party in parliament.
However, following the recent elections, the LDP-led coalition no longer holds majorities in either chamber and will require cooperation from opposition lawmakers to govern effectively.
Takaichi won the most number of votes with 183 out of the total 589 valid votes, while Koizumi came in second place with 164 votes in a field of five candidates.
The run-off vote will follow shortly.
The first round of voting is made up of 590 votes: 295 LDP lawmakers and an equal number of grassroots votes.
The runoff between the two top candidates will see the 295 LDP lawmakers cast ballots again. The rank-and-file vote share, however, drops from 295 to 47, favouring the candidate with the stronger backing among the parliamentary party.
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