Japan ruling party leadership race begins with record 9 candidates

A record nine candidates on Thursday kicked off a 15-day election campaign to become the next leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and succeed Fumio Kishida as prime minister, as the party seeks to restore public confidence following a slush funds scandal.The leadership election on Sept. 27 will be held without the outright influence of intraparty groups at the center of the money scandal. That, and the unusually wide field of candidates, boosts the likelihood that the vote will be split.Whoever the winner is, the next LDP president will also need to help ease the squeeze felt …READ FULL ARTICLE