Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi and agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi are headed to a runoff Saturday in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election after none of the five candidates won a majority in the first round.
Koizumi, 44, and Takaichi, 64, will vie for 295 parliamentary votes and 47 prefectural chapter votes in the runoff to become party president — and most likely prime minister.
In the first round of the election, Takaichi came in first with a total of 183 votes — 64 from party lawmakers and 119 votes from rank-and-file members — followed by Koizumi’s 164 votes — 80 from party lawmakers and 84 from the rank and file.