Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi has the lead when it comes to support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's lawmakers in the party's leadership race, a Jiji Press survey suggests.
Koizumi has the support of more than 20% of the LDP's 295 lawmakers, followed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, with nearly 20%, and former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, with over 10%.
The other two candidates, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi and former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, are backed by about 10% each. About a quarter of all LDP lawmakers have not decided which candidate to support, leaving the race fluid.
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