Takaichi, Koizumi in Close Race among LDP Rank-and-File: Jiji Survey

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi are neck-and-neck in support among rank-and-file members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ahead of Saturday’s party leadership election, a Jiji Press survey has found. The survey covered 47 senior local LDP officials from each of the party’s 47 prefectural chapters this month. Of them, 25 responded to a question about which candidate seems to have the most support among members of their prefectural chapters. Takaichi, a former economic security minister, was cited by eight officials from the Aomori, Chiba, Nagano, Aichi, Osaka, Nara, Kochi and Fukuoka chapters, while Koizumi, the current agriculture minister, by another eight, from Akita, Yamagata, Saitama, Yamanashi, Gifu, Okayama, Miyazaki and Okinawa. Officials from Shizuoka, Kyoto, Tokushima and Oita said that it was a close race between Takaichi and Koizumi. Former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi was viewed as the most supported candidate in two prefectures, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi in one prefecture. No official mentioned former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi. When asked about their personal favorite candidate, 10 of the 22 who responded to this question chose Takaichi. “Conservative supporters may return” if Takaichi becomes LDP leader, one official said. Four officials said Hayashi, three said Koizumi, and one said both Hayashi and Koizumi. Motegi and Kobayashi were each cited by two officials. On which party the LDP should add to the ruling coalition, 12 officials said the Democratic Party for the People, while five said Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), and two said both parties. Six officials said the ruling bloc should not be expanded, while 22 did not respond. No official in the Kinki western region gave Nippon Ishin as a response. All five candidates have expressed interest in enlarging the ruling coalition, at a time when the LDP-Komeito coalition lacks majorities in both chambers of the Diet. In the LDP leadership race, 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. An earlier Jiji Press survey found Koizumi to be leading in support among LDP lawmakers. If no candidate wins a majority in the first round of voting, the two candidates with the most votes will compete in a runoff to vie for a total of 342 votes–47 from prefectural branches based on the top vote-getter in each prefecture and the remaining 295 from lawmakers. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]