Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi has decided to pursue the post being vacated by outgoing Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and has begun preparing his policy agenda, Liberal Democratic Party sources said Tuesday.
Obuchi's decision came just as Hashimoto's resignation was officially approved by the party's decision-making Executive Council earlier in the day, and is expected to put the race for the next LDP leader into full swing.
The ruling party also decided to convene a meeting of all LDP Diet members on July 21 to choose Hashimoto's successor as party president, who will almost certainly be elected new prime minister since the LDP, despite its election setback in the Upper House, still retains a comfortable majority in the more powerful House of Representatives.