EXPLAINER: Japanese ruling party race to determine next PM

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Official election campaigning started Friday for the next head of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party. The winner will almost certainly become leader of the world’s No. 3 economy, shaping key political, military and security roles in the region. Two men and, unusually for Japan, two women are competing in the Sept. 29 vote to replace outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Their policies focus on anti-coronavirus measures, an economy hobbled by the pandemic and how to deal with, from Tokyo’s perspective, China’s increasingly menacing role in regional affairs.