PM Abe declares candidacy, LDP leadership race set to kick off

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday he will run in the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership contest next month, effectively setting off a two-horse race with former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba."I am determined to hold the helm of Japan for three more years as LDP president and prime minister," Abe told reporters in Tarumizu, Kagoshima Prefecture, in southwestern Japan.With official campaigning starting on Sept. 7, the ruling party will hold the leadership election, which will effectively decide Japan's next prime minister, on Sept. 20.Noting that the LDP won a landslide victory in th…READ FULL ARTICLE