Shigeru Ishiba will become the next prime minister of Japan after winning the presidency of the ruling Liberal Democratic party in a closely contested run-off vote on Friday.
As president of the LDP the 67-year-old former defence and agriculture minister, who has sought the leadership of his party five times, will succeed Fumio Kishida after a parliamentary vote on October 1.
Ishiba’s victory followed a highly unusual LDP leadership race contested by a record nine candidates. The competition was intensified by the party’s declaration this year that it was disbanding most of the factions that have historically controlled internal votes.