Japan to hold election on September 14 to pick PM Abe’s successor

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided Wednesday to hold a presidential election on September 14 to choose Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s successor, with his longtime right-hand man Yoshihide Suga seemingly on course to secure about 70 percent of votes from fellow lawmakers.

The race for the party’s top post will officially kick off on September 8, with members filing their candidacies from 10 a.m. A new leader will be elected at a joint plenary meeting of LDP party members from both parliament houses to be held at a Tokyo hotel from 2 p.m. on September 14.

The new LDP president will be anointed the country’s new prime minister at an extraordinary parliamentary session, possibly convened on Sept. 16, as the LDP controls the powerful lower house. The newly-elected leader will serve the remainder of Abe’s term as the party president through September 2021.