Japan's LDP leadership race commences as eligible voting members dwindle

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) officially launched its leadership election campaign on Monday amid a sharp decline in the number of eligible voting members.

The contenders are Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, former Economic Security Ministers Takayuki Kobayashi and Sanae Takaichi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, and former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi.

All five also ran in last year's election, which saw a record nine candidates.

The contest will focus on issues such as cooperation with opposition parties, economic measures to tackle rising prices, and rebuilding the party after successive election defeats and political funding scandals.

The election, triggered by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's announcement earlier this month that he will step down as the LDP head, will culminate in a vote on October 4. The winner is widely expected to be designated Japan's next prime minister by the Diet, given the LDP's status as the largest party -- despite the ruling bloc's recent failure to secure a parliamentary majority.

A total of 590 ballots will be cast, split evenly between the 295 Diet member votes and another 295 ballots representing party member votes. Ballots from party members will be finalized the day before lawmakers vote on October 4, after which both sets will be counted together to decide the new party leader.

Notably, significantly fewer members will be eligible to vote. According to data released Sunday by the LDP's election management committee, about 915,600 party members are eligible -- a drop of more than 140,000 from the previous leadership race.

Party insiders attribute the decline to two factors: an overall decrease in LDP membership and a new rule requiring party members to have paid dues for at least two consecutive years to qualify.

The shrinking membership base reflects broader challenges facing the LDP. Since the party was engulfed in a major "slush fund" scandal in late 2023, its ranks have thinned for two consecutive years. As of March this year, total party membership had already fallen below 1.03 million.

Japan's LDP leadership race commences as eligible voting members dwindle

Japan's LDP leadership race commences as eligible voting members dwindle

Russia said on Tuesday that it had taken control of two more settlements from Ukraine, while Ukraine, on the same day, reported repelling Russian offensives on multiple fronts.

Russia's Defense Ministry said in its latest report that over the past 24 hours, its forces captured the key logistics hub of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, and the village of Novoyakovlivka in southeast of the city of Zaporizhzhia.

The Russian forces also carried out strikes on 154 targets using tactical aircraft, attack drones, missile forces and artillery, and these targets included Ukraine's energy infrastructure as well as storage and launch sites for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said in a situation report that as of 08:00 Tuesday, it had carried out strikes on Russian drone control stations, multiple rocket launch systems and command posts over the past day.

The Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks in several directions, including Kupiansk and Lyman, the report said.

Furthermore, Ukraine's local authorities and the country's energy ministry said on Tuesday that the Russian forces launched air strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure from late Monday night to early Tuesday morning.

The attacks left dozens of people injured in Odesa city and Mykolaiv Oblast, and triggered power outages in multiple areas, the Ukrainian side said.

Russia captures two more settlements from Ukraine, while Ukraine repels Russian offensives on multiple fronts