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Japanese Ruling LDP's Local Chapters to Hold Primary Elections
A total of 42 out of 47 local chapters of the Japanese ruling Democratic Party have decided to conduct primary elections ahead of the party's presidential election on April 24, which will choose the successor to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's, said a survey conducted by Japan's Kyodo News Agency on April 7.
The move signals local chapters' desire to have their own say in the party's presidential election, not just leaving the important decision to LDP members in the Diet.
Only the Okayama prefectural chapter decided not to conduct a primary election while four chapters -- Hiroshima, Kagawa, Saga and Miyazaki -- will decide whether to hold such a primary race early next week, according to the survey.
Most of the chapters will conduct the primary elections with postal ballots while three chapters -- Hokkaido, Tokyo and Kanagawa -- will conduct direct polls.
The primary elections are expected around April 21-22, right before the LDP presidential election slated for April 24.
The LDP leadership, including Secretary General Makoto Koga, recently decided to increase the number of votes for each of the 47 prefectural chapters from one to three, which put as many as 141 votes for local branches in the coming LDP presidential election.
Embattled Mori on Friday publicly stated his intention to step down in near future to make way for a new leader.
Former prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and former health and welfare minister Junichiro Koizumi have indicated their intention to run for the election.
The new LDP chief would automatically become the next Japanese prime minister as the party dominates the three-way ruling coalition of LDP, New Komeito and New Conservative Party.
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