TOKYO — Shigeru Ishiba, a former defense minister and party heavyweight, won Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's race to become leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the country's next prime minister on Friday.
Here's the latest (Japan time):
17:23 Japanese stocks are not reacting well to Ishiba's after-hours win. Nikkei 225 futures fell 1,950 points, or 5.1%, to 37,900 in the opening session on Friday night. It later fell 2,220 points, or 5.8%, to 37,630 at 4:36 p.m.
16:48 Read our story on how currency markets reacted to Ishiba's win.
16:45 China said on Friday it hoped Japan would adopt an “objective and correct” approach to its neighbor and cooperate to develop healthy and stable bilateral relations, Reuters reported. Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, said this while answering a question about the prospects of the former Japanese defense minister to become the next prime minister at the next press conference in Beijing.
16:18 International reactions are starting to come. First, the US Ambassador to Japan:
15:56 For those who missed them, here are the official results:
15:45 Read more about who Ishiba is in this profile:
15:43 In his victory speech, the newly elected leader said: “Prime Minister Kishida has decided to allow the LDP to be reborn and regain public trust. We must all come together to respond.”
Kishida himself said: “From now on, we must unite to fulfill our responsibility to the people under the leadership of the new president… We must ask the new president of the LDP, Mr. Shigeru Ishiba, to form a strong cabinet.” his executive power, determination and ability to create policy and deliver results”.
15:41 The yen rose more than 1% to $143.3 on Friday afternoon after Ishiba's win. He supports monetary policy normalization and has said he is open to higher capital gains taxes.
15:30 The results of Ishiba's come-from-behind victory in the second round.
15:20 Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba won the race to become LDP leader.
15.00 Counting of ballots has started in the second round. The result is expected in about 20 minutes.
14:35 Both Takaichi and Ishiba gave short speeches before the second round of voting began.
Ishiba said: “We will put an end to the widespread distrust of the LDP. After the election, we will set our hearts on protecting Japan, local areas, regulations and the Japanese people.”
Takaichi said: “I entered the second round as a female candidate, which is a historic moment for Japan,” and added: “I would like to ensure that economic activity reaches every corner of Japan so that the next generation can live safely.”
14:23 The yen weakened to 146.2 against the dollar on Friday afternoon after Sanae Takaichi topped the first round of the survey against higher rates. Heading into the vote count, the yen traded as low as -145, but weakened quickly as Takaichi tallied the votes.
The Nikkei Stock Average rose 672.98 points, or 1.73%, to 39,598.61.
“If Ms. Takaichi becomes the next prime minister, she is likely to strongly oppose further rate hikes, regardless of the composition of her cabinet,” said Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities. in a note on Friday.
14:19 We present the results of the first round of voting.
14:10 Sanae Takaichi and Shigeru Ishiba advanced to the second round of voting.
13:34 Counting of votes begins. It should take about 25 minutes.
13:30 Kishida, who is also the current president of the LDP, said that if the election goes to the second round, he will vote for the candidate who gets the most votes from the rank-and-file party members. Influential LDP vice president Taro Aso plans to vote for Sanae Takaichi in the final vote, Nikkei has learned.
Voices in men. (Photo by Mayumi Tsumita)
13.00 LDP MPs have started voting in the first round of voting. The results of this round are expected at around 14:20 and the top two candidates will advance to the second round.
LDP MPs have started voting in the first round of voting. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)
11:46 a.m Japanese stocks closed largely flat on Friday morning, erasing much of the gains from earlier in the session, as investors awaited who the LDP's new leader would be. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 39.02 points, or 0.10%, to 38,964.65. The yen strengthened to around 145.07 per dollar from an average of 145 in the morning.
11:28 The view in front of the LDP headquarters:
11:07 a.m In the first round of voting, where the party's 368 Diet members voted and the LDP's 1.09 million party members were given an equal number of votes, rank-and-file party members will have a big say. This will be followed by a run-off between the top two candidates, with a total of 415 votes – 368 from legislators and 47 from local party units.
LDP workers count the ballots of party members at their headquarters in Tokyo on September 27. © Kyodo
10:53 Japanese stocks rose on Friday morning, in part because of support for Sanae Takaichi, whose victory for Taro Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, meant a weaker yen and stronger stocks. Current economic security minister Takaichi defends Abenomics and opposes high interest rates.
The Nikkei Stock Average was up 317.67 points, or 0.82%, at 39,243.30 at 10:15 a.m. Decreased by 0.030%. The yen was trading at mid-145, down 0.27%.
10:50 Some of the leading candidates have been active on social media this morning.
10:47 a.m Tobias Harris, author of a biography of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, says the race will be very close.
“There have been no significant changes in the race in the final days of the campaign. The two finalists are likely to be from the elite group of Ishiba Shigeru, Koizumi Shinjiro and Takaichi Sanae. As expected, the election is likely to be one of the most dramatic in the LDP's seven-decade history. the top three candidates will finish within about 10 to 20 votes of each other in the first round, and there is no certainty as to who will advance to the second round, let alone win at all,” Harris wrote in an email note.
“The second round may be easier to read than the first. If Koizumi survives the first round, there is a good chance he will win the lead against both Ishiba and Takaichi.”
10:35 a.m Welcome to this live blog from rainy Tokyo.
Nine candidates are running (in alphabetical order by last name):
- Yoshimasa Hayashi (Chief Cabinet Secretary)
- Shigeru Ishiba (former defense minister)
- Yoko Kamikawa (Foreign Minister)
- Katsunobu Kato (former Chief Cabinet Secretary)
- Takayuki Kobayashi (former economic security minister)
- Shinjiro Koizumi (son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, former environment minister)
- Taro Kono (Digital Minister)
- Toshimitsu Motegi (General Secretary of the LDP)
- Sanae Takaichi (Minister of Economic Security)
Recent media polls of LDP lawmakers and party members make it a three-horse race between Ishiba, Koizumi and Takaichi. The party's 368 Diet members are expected to start voting around 1:00 p.m. local time, with an equal number of votes allocated to the LDP's 1.09 million party members. The results of the first round are expected shortly after 14:00. If, as expected, no candidate wins a majority, a runoff between the top two candidates will be held shortly thereafter. In this case, there will be a total of 415 votes – 368 from legislators and 47 from local party branches.
Here are some stories to read as we wait for the results: