Japan's Suga poised to win party race, headed for premiership [View all]
Last edited Sun Sep 13, 2020, 10:46 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Reuters
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, a longtime loyal aide of outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was poised to win a ruling party leadership election on Monday, virtually ensuring that he replaces Abe this week in the nations top job.
Suga, 71, who has said he would pursue Abes key economic and foreign policies, is expected to get the bulk of votes from 394 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers and is likely to win a majority of 141 votes from the partys local chapters.
Suga was on track to win over 70% of the MPs votes and was leading among local chapters, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The winner of the LDP race is virtually certain to be elected prime minister in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday because of the LDPs majority in the lower house. He will serve out Abes term as party leader through September 2021.
Read more: https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-politics/japans-suga-poised-to-win-party-race-headed-for-premiership-idUSKBN2640X6