Japan’s ruling party to vote for second new leader in a year

BBC:

Japan could soon have either its first female or youngest-ever prime minister as the country’s ruling party votes for its second new leader in just over a year.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is looking to replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who stepped down last month after his government lost its majority in both houses of parliament.

Whoever is elected will face numerous challenges – not least leading a party still struggling to win back voter trust after major financial corruption scandals.

They will also need to balance the fraught US-Japan relations and see through the tariff deal agreed on by the Ishiba government with Donald Trump’s administration.

A reported visit by Trump to Japan in late October comes as the two countries – historically close allies and major partners in trade and security issues – continue to hash out how to implement the deal over tariffs.

Domestically, the new leader will also have to find a way to boost the flailing economy and deal with rising inflation and a persistent cost-of-living crisis, on top of countering a drift towards the far-right.

Even being named prime minister for whoever wins is not a given as the LDP no longer holds an absolute majority in parliament.

Saturday’s vote will be within the LDP’s 295 parliamentarians and grassroots party members.

If no one wins a majority in Saturday’s initial vote, a runoff will quickly follow between the top two candidates.