
Tetsushi Takahashi was Nikkei's China bureau chief from April 2017 to March 2021 and the writer for the Beijing Diary column.
TOKYO -- The leadership election for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, set for Sept. 29, has drawn keen interest from observers around the world, including China. But Japan's premiership is not the only thing at stake in the vote. Beijing is also concerned about how much influence the pro-China heavyweight LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai will retain within the party.