Koizumi Leads in Support from LDP Lawmakers: Jiji Survey

Tokyo, Sept. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi is leading in support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s lawmakers in the party leadership race, a Jiji Press survey has suggested. Koizumi has secured votes from more than 20 pct of the 295 LDP lawmakers, followed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, with nearly 20 pct, and former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, with over 10 pct. The other two candidates, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi and former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, are backed by about 10 pct each. About a quarter of all LDP lawmakers have not decided which candidate to support, leaving the race still fluid. In the Oct. 4 party election, a total of 590 votes are up for grabs, with each LDP lawmaker holding one vote and the remaining 295 votes coming from rank-and-file party members and supporters. If no candidate wins a majority in the first round of voting, the two candidates with the most votes will compete in a runoff. Koizumi enjoys broad-based support, including from lawmakers who belonged to the now-defunct faction formerly led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and members of the only remaining intraparty faction, headed by former Prime Minister Taro Aso. On Monday, his campaign’s kick-off rally was attended by 92 party lawmakers, including proxies, who accounted for more than 30 pct of all party lawmakers. Koizumi is also expected to gain a certain number of votes from rank-and-file party members. In last year’s LDP leadership election, however, he failed to advance to the runoff due to his lackluster debate performance during the campaign period. Meanwhile, half of Takaichi’s supporters are former Abe faction members, and the rest are mostly conservative party members. In the last leadership election, Takaichi moved to the runoff with the second-largest number of votes from lawmakers. However, some of her supporters at the time have lost their seats in recent parliamentary elections. Additionally, it is uncertain whether she can gain support from the Aso faction, as she did in the previous leadership election. Hayashi is the only candidate from the now-defunct faction led by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and is expected to draw votes from former faction colleagues. He is also expected to be backed by Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, a close aide to outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and others. Kobayashi is mainly supported by middle-ranking and younger lawmakers. His supporters also include veteran lawmaker Yasukazu Hamada, chairman of the House of Representatives’ steering committee, who has influence on factionless lawmakers. Both Kobayashi and Hamada represent constituencies in Chiba Prefecture. Motegi is backed by former members of his now-defunct faction, as well as by lawmakers from Tochigi Prefecture, his home turf. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]