Campaign for LDP leadership race starts to pick PM Abe's successor

TOKYO - Official campaigning for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election began Tuesday, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's right-hand man seen on course to succeed the outgoing premier in the race against two former ministers.Top candidate Yoshihide Suga, 71, who has served as chief Cabinet secretary for nearly eight years under the Abe administration, is vying with Shigeru Ishiba, a 63-year-old former defense minister and vocal critic of Abe, and Fumio Kishida, 63, a former foreign minister and currently the LDP's policy chief.The LDP election will be held following Abe's…READ FULL ARTICLE