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Japan's Reformist Well Ahead Into Tuesday's LDP Presidential Race
With more than 100 ballots already in hand through primaries, Japan's former Health and Welfare Minister Junichiro Koizumi is poised to win Tuesday's presidential election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and then become the nation's next leader.
The 59-year-old Koizumi amassed 117 ballots in primaries as of Monday evening, compared with 15 ballots by his main contender, former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.
There are a total of 141 ballots in the primary election, and the final result is to come out later this evening.
The new party president will be elected through votes cast by 346 lawmakers, as well as the 141 representatives. If no candidate wins a simple majority, a runoff will be held.
Koizumi's camp believes that he is assured of 100 votes from among the 346 LDP lawmakers. The focus of Koizumi's campaign is now focused on whether he can secure a simple majority of 244 ballots out of the total of 487 ballots.
The three other candidates in the race, including Hashimoto, party policy chief Shizuka Kamei, and Taro Aso, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, are far behind in the polls.
The former favorite Hashimoto hinted Monday that he might withdraw in the case of a runoff.
"The competition consists of primaries by party members and the final selection (by Diet members)," Hashimoto said, "Whether there will be an extra-winning game depends on umpires' judgment by the time (of the voting by lawmakers)."
The winner of the LDP presidential election will automatically become the new prime minister as the LDP-led coalition controls a majority in the House of Representatives, which has the final say in choosing Japan's premier.
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