FOCUS: Race to succeed Abe kicks off with no clear favorite

The abrupt departure of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has triggered a race within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for the top job, with no single contender having a clear road to the premiership.Whoever succeeds Abe, the country's longest-serving prime minister, will have their work cut out as the coronavirus pandemic has plunged the world's third-largest economy into recession and forced the Tokyo Olympics to be postponed.Frontrunners include LDP policy chief Fumio Kishida and former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, both of whom indicated their desire to run shortly after Abe anno…READ FULL ARTICLE