The vote and counting are scheduled to take place on September 27. The winner of the LDP leadership election will be appointed as Japan's 102nd prime minister.
The upcoming LDP leadership election has nine candidates running - the largest number ever. The nine candidates include the top five incumbent LDP members and members of Prime Minister Kishida's cabinet.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and former LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba are among the candidates expected to lead the race, Asia Nikkei reported.
According to a poll jointly conducted by Nikkei and TV Tokyo in late August after Prime Minister Kishida's resignation announcement, Mr. Koizumi emerged as the most popular candidate, with 23% support, followed by Mr. Ishiba with 18%. Mr. Koizumi and Mr. Ishiba were also the two most popular candidates in polls by other media outlets.
Former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi is also a leading candidate. In a Nikkei poll, Takaichi had 15% support among LDP supporters, compared with 14% for Ishiba. Koizumi topped the list with 32% support among LDP supporters.
However, support among the candidates is likely to fluctuate as the public determines who will be Japan's next leader through candidate debates.
The LDP has lost public trust in the aftermath of the political funding scandal. Polls show the LDP's approval ratings remain low. The party needs to quickly regain public trust as joint elections for both houses of parliament are due by the end of 2025, according to Nikkei.
In the LDP leadership race, candidates are stressing the importance of ensuring financial transparency and governance reform through measures such as greater disclosure of political funds.
Other key points include Japan's medium- and long-term challenges, such as how to stem the country's population decline, how to finance rising social security costs as the population ages and how to unfreeze the country's rigid labor market.
The public is also closely watching how the new leader will address rising prices, an issue that is of immediate concern to most voters.
On the security and foreign affairs front, Japan's national security challenges are becoming increasingly serious. Given Japan's tight financial situation and the capabilities of its Self-Defense Forces, the country's foreign and security policy options are limited.
Regardless of which of the nine candidates wins the LDP presidential election to become prime minister, Japan's new leader is likely to maintain the party's basic policies since the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in office: Strengthening the alliance with the United States and increasing cooperation with like-minded countries in the Asia-Pacific region such as South Korea, Australia, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
