Support for Suga widening in LDP leadership race

Sep 01, 2020 | News On Japan

Sep 01, 2020 (NHK) - In the race to choose the new leader of Japan's main governing Liberal Democratic Party, support for Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide appears to be widening.

The winner of the election will take over from Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, when he resigns to deal with health issues.

Suga is expected to officially announce his candidacy once the schedule for the election is decided. On Monday, he met the head of the party's largest faction and other senior party members to ask for support.

Finance Minister Aso Taro told the senior members of his faction, the second-largest in the party, to ensure that its members support Suga. Another faction led by Secretary-General Nikai Toshihiro confirmed that it will also support Suga.

Some junior lawmakers who don't belong to any particular faction and those who were first elected to parliament in the same year as Suga are also urging him to run.

LDP policy affairs chief and former Foreign Minister Kishida Fumio reiterated his resolve to run at his faction's meeting on Monday. He held talks with several important members of the party, including Prime Minister Abe, to seek support.

Another potential candidate is former Secretary-General of the LDP Ishiba Shigeru. He told his faction members that he cannot let down those who have high hopes for him.

A senior LDP official says that the election will be likely held on September 14 with only lawmakers and selected delegates from prefectural chapters eligible to vote.

This would streamline the procedure and bypass a vote by all party members across the country.

But junior and middle-ranking lawmakers have requested a vote that includes all members, arguing that the new leader should be chosen more openly.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.