TOKYO -- Former Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed reservations about running in this month's ruling party leadership election as party support grows for a rival, popular vaccination minister Taro Kono.
If Ishiba, once seen as a leading contender, skips the race, the Liberal Democratic Party election could become a three-horse race among Kono, former LDP policy chief Fumio Kishida and former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi.
