The three contenders facing off against incumbent Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race battled on Friday, the final day before the vote, despite widespread forecasts that they would lose by a wide margin.
In fact, people in Nagata-cho, the epicenter of national politics, are now more concerned with the size of Koizumi's anticipated victory in Saturday's vote.
Former transport minister Takao Fujii, a member of the faction led by former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, convened a final meeting Friday to test the loyalty of his faction colleagues -- and only 31 of the 100 Diet members from the faction turned up.