Shinjiro Koizumi Leads in Polls for Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Presidential Election | WPN World People News

The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan has announced that nine candidates will run in the party's presidential election, with voting set to take place on September 27. According to a poll conducted by Japan's Jiji Press, Shinjiro Koizumi, the 43-year-old former environment minister and son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, is currently leading in support.

In the poll, conducted from September 6 to 9, the top four candidates were Shinjiro Koizumi (25.5%), former secretary-general Shigeru Ishiba (24.2%), Minister of Economic Security Sanae Takaichi (8.5%), and Digital Minister Taro Kono (4.9%). Among Liberal Democratic Party supporters, Koizumi's support rises to 35.6%, compared to Ishiba's 27.1%. This marks a shift from a poll in early August, where Ishiba led with 18.7%, about 6.2% ahead of Koizumi, who was second at the time.

The poll also surveyed voter intentions for the upcoming House of Representatives election. The Liberal Democratic Party leads with 31.2%, followed by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party at 10.2%, the Japan Innovation Party at 5.5%, and the Komeito Party at 4.2%. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet approval rating has remained below 20% for ten consecutive months, dropping by another 0.7% this time to just 18.7%.

The poll surveyed 2,000 men and women aged 18 and older through individual interviews, with a valid response rate of 58.5%.