Explainer-What you need to know about Japan has chosen its next prime minister By Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday he would step down next month, a move that is sparking a scramble among potential successors to replace him as head of the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Click here for a list of likely candidates to succeed Kishida as Japan’s prime minister.

WHY IS KISHIDA GIVING UP?

Kishida has been prime minister for nearly three years, a relatively long tenure in modern Japanese politics. However, his administration had become unpopular due to a fund scandal and controversy over the ruling party’s connection to the former Unification Church.

The economy also affected his popularity. Households were hit as price increases outpaced wage increases.

For months, public support for Kishida and his cabinet has remained below 30 percent in opinion polls, which is usually seen as a trigger for new elections or leadership change.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Under Japan’s parliamentary system, the leader of the ruling party or coalition of parties becomes prime minister. For almost all of Japan’s post-World War II history, this meant that the prime minister came from Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The LDP must hold a leadership race every three years. The next one will take place in September, although the dates have not yet been set.

WHO COULD SUCCEED KISHIDA?

Candidates need 20 signatures from LDP lawmakers to run for the party leadership. Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi are among those seen as leaders.

Political factions are a critical force in LDP leadership contests, with former prime ministers Taro Aso, Yoshihide Suga and Kishida himself seen as potential kingpins.

HOW DOES VOTING WORK?

Each member of the PDL parliament will receive one vote, and a similar number of votes will be shared between rank and file members of the party at large.

The PLD currently has 369 MPs in the upper and lower houses of parliament, based on the party’s website, while registered party members were around 1.13 million in the previous 2021 election.

The votes cast by party members will be counted according to a system of proportional representation called the D’Hondt method.

If no one wins a majority of votes in the first round, there will be a runoff between the top two candidates.

HOW WILL THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION BE FORMED?

Once a new PDL leader is elected, parliament will be called into session to elect the next prime minister. The candidate who wins the majority of votes cast by the lower and upper houses of parliament will occupy the top job.

Given the majority of the PDL in both Chambers, the PDL leader will likely be elected Prime Minister. The new prime minister is also expected to form a new cabinet and reshuffle LDP party executives in early October.