Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election is likely to be a three-way battle, with the winner almost certain to become the country's next prime minister, as voting by rank-and-file members closed on Friday.Among five candidates, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi and farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi are locked in a close race to succeed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as LDP president in Saturday's vote.The contest is widely expected to be decided in a runoff between the top two contenders, as none of the five candida…READ FULL ARTICLE
