With just over a month until the Sept. 27 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, 43, is at or near the top of recent polls on who would make the best party president.
Former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba, 67, who is expected to declare his candidacy Saturday, also received a strong degree of support.
While Koizumi has not officially announced his candidacy, he has expressed an interest in running and could make an announcement within the next week or so. According to a poll conducted by the Nikkei and TV Tokyo on Wednesday and Thursday, 23% of all respondents and 32% of LDP supporters thought he would be the best LDP president among 11 possible candidates.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.