TOKYO -- The Democratic Party of Japan will pick its new leader on Jan. 18. The race, being fought among three candidates of divergent political stripes, will help set a future path for the top opposition party struggling to rebuild itself after a crushing electoral loss in 2012.
The three-way contest for the DPJ's presidency kicked off Wednesday, pitting former DPJ Secretary-General Goshi Hosono, acting party chief Katsuya Okada and ex-Health Minister Akira Nagatsuma against one another.