Japan ruling party launches race for Abe’s successor

Japan's ruling party yesterday kicked off the race to pick Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's successor, with his powerful right-hand man Yoshihide Suga commanding an all-but-insurmountable lead. Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga, 71, has already secured the support of major factions in the Liberal Democratic Party ahead of its leadership vote on September 14. But he isn't running unchallenged, with a popular former defence minister and the party's policy chief standing against him. Thanks to the LDP's solid legislative majority, the race's winner is certain to win a parliamentary vote on September 16 and be named the country's next prime minister. The LDP race began after Abe, Japan's longest-serving premier, abruptly announced late August that he would resign for health reasons.