LDP race: Kono leads Kishida 46% to 17% in Nikkei poll

Support for hawkish Takaichi grows to 14%

20210917 LDP Japan Presidential Election 2

LDP candidates in the leadership race, left to right: Taro Kono, Fumio Kishida, Sanae Takaichi and Seiko Noda. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)

Nikkei staff writers

September 26, 2021 01:09 JST

Updated on September 26, 2021 04:47 JST

TOKYO -- Taro Kono is the favorite to become the next leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and effectively the next prime minister, a poll by Nikkei and TV Tokyo shows.

The opinion poll, conducted Thursday to Saturday, shows 46% of respondents picked Kono, the vaccination minister, as the "most suitable person" to succeed outgoing LDP President and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.